Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
by G-Town Hoya
Summary: Following the aftermath of Ian Doyle, a ritualistic serial killer with a gruesome and unusual obsession leads the team to the swamplands of rural Louisiana where Emily Prentiss meets an intriguing undercover officer with a past just as checkered as her own. Do buried sins ever truly die? Or can you only hope to be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead...
1. Blood, Sweat, and Tears

**This is an idea that I came up with a while back and it just stuck with me. It is dark so please take note of the rating. There will violence, strong language, and consensual sexual content in this story. Of course, like my other works, there will be a few comedic scenes as well. **

**There are going to be two cases in this story, the first of which is ****partially inspired by the amazing show True Detective, which will help introduce our new OC. The other one, well, that's a surprise. **

**This takes place post-Doyle in early to mid-season 7. Even though there is romance this definitely isn't going to be a sappy Emily Prentiss love story, she's pretty badass in it. As always I own nothing, I borrow.**

**For any wondering the title refers to an old Irish toast, "May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows ****you're dead."**

_7 Years Prior_

_"You need to understand something, all that I have, all of it was earned. It was paid for with blood, sweat, and tears."_

_"Not your blood."_

_"Or my tears."_

_"But it was our sweat."_

_"You okay with that?"_

_"I'm not okay with wasting it."_

_"Neither am I. You know, some people, they call me a fucking egomaniac with a God complex. I call it the truth, a man creates his own God. You don't want to waste that sweat, then you do what is needed to protect it. Protect what I built. Protect what will be yours...Become your own God. It's time Jackie."_

_"I can't."_

_"Can't or won't?"_

_"When it comes to pulling the trigger, what's the difference?"_

_"Everything."_

* * *

"Okay my pretties we are headed to the land of the pelicans" Garcia began as she projected of several photos of swampy wetlands on the large screen in the BAU conference room.

"Louisiana" Reid spoke up as he scrolled through the new case files on his FBI issued iPad.

"New Orleans?" JJ asked hopefully.

"Sorry pumpkin, we are headed to the southern, and I mean very south area of Louisiana. In Vermilion Parish, Troop I of the Louisiana State Police have nine bodies on their hands and a possible eighteen murders. We are headed to Abbeville where their police precinct is located."

Morgan sighed as he rubbed his head in frustration. This was an aggravating pattern with local police, "Eighteen murders? This is fucking ridiculous. Why did they wait so long?"

"Well the problem is they technically only have nine bodies. The others are missing persons that fit the M.O., also the bodies they did find were dumped across the swamp lands so alligators…'

"Oh" Emily cringed.

"Yeah, and there was also an issue with decomposition and staging of the bodies because of when they were found. Since the area is such a large area for police to patrol, it took forever for someone to find the bodies and by the time they did a lot of the evidence was washed away. Anywhoozle, it was hard to connect the murders together. And on top of all of that, the victims are prostitutes and drug addicts so they either weren't reported as missing to begin with or taken seriously when reported as missing because the victim type is so transient."

"Fuck" Morgan groaned. He knew this was not going to be an easy case.

Rossi inhaled sharply as he continued to read the M.E. reports the local detective had sent over. "It's a miracle they could link these bodies together in the first place."

"That's what I was thinking. Three bodies that were found were intricately staged, Garcia" Hotch hinted as Garcia pulled up the photos on to the screen. "As you can see the women were neatly laid out, fully clothed and all bruises were covered with concealer. This is the body of Kara Ellis aged 18, and the bodies of Noël Harris aged 20, and Claudia Hunter aged 22, were also found posed like this. "

"Fingernails were taken, post-mortem?" Emily asked hopefully as Garcia shook her head 'no.'

"According to the M.E. they were taken during sometime before they were killed."

"They're his souvenirs" Rossi grimly commented as the team collectively sighed in reply "Those poor girls had been tortured before they were killed."

"So if we're lucky and we find our unsub, we're going to find a collection of fingernails?" JJ asked, wondering how she could still be horrified after almost a decade on the job. But she guessed that you just never get used to cases like these, and that was a good thing. It was a good thing to not be numb to the evil in front of them.

"Who was the first victim?" Emily asked as she zoomed in on the picture of Ellis' body.

"First victim found was Ellis."

"Hmm."

"You have something Prentiss?" Morgan asked Emily, who looked to be deep in thought.

"I just wonder when he started building up to this. I don't know, maybe it'll be in missing person reports. What is that in the victim's hands? Is that a prayer-book?"

"Yes, and the pages were found shoved in the victim's mouth and some were pushed down as far as the diaphragm" Hotch answered.

"It would explain the prayer hands pose" Reid added as he also zoomed in on the image of the small book.

"Very pious. Could that be why there was concealer on the bodies?" Emily inquired as she pinned a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe he was cleansing them of their defilements, their imperfections."

"Maybe there is a religious element, but I don't want to get into that too soon" Hotch established before he continued on. "All the recovered bodies were essentially homeless prostitutes with drug addictions. Additionally, all were beaten, raped and then strangled to death. What looks to be an upside down capital 'L' was also carved on their chest."

"He branded their heart" Reid remarked as the team all looked over to Emily, ensuring that she was okay.

Emily wasn't sure if it was solely for her own good, or to reassure themselves as well, needing to know she was doing well. She smiled at JJ and Garcia before speaking up again, "But why the letter 'L?'"

"Maybe it's an initial" Morgan offered with a shrug.

"Something about it is bothering me…" Emily trailed off, nodding at Hotch to go on, which he did.

"At the crime scene there were branches laid out to create a halo over the victim's head. Six other bodies were found in the same thirty mile radius that fit the victim types, but by the time they were found the staging had already began to decompose. The victims were Lynn Baker, aged 24, Jordin Cole aged 26, Crystal Cooper aged 21, Tamara Singer aged 20, Marie Goetz aged 32 and Ree Kelly aged 19."

"So he seemed to stick to a type of caucasian women, but other than it it's all over the map" Morgan deduced as he looked at the victim's mug shots on the screen. "The victims all have varying ages, hair color, and eye color."

Hotch nodded as he gave a the remaining information he had been sent, "The other nine missing women have yet to be found, dead or alive. We probably won't know for sure until we get a confession. Two women were presumed dead in the Katrina floods seven years ago, but since the first missing woman who fit the profile disappeared in 2003, it is entirely possible that those two women were also victims…"

"Do we have her picture?" Emily asked as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Her body was never recovered."

"Whose body was first recovered, staging or no staging?"

"Lynn Baker."

"Thanks" Emily replied absent-mindedly as she scrolled through her iPad to find the autopsy photos, which to her dismay didn't include photographs of Baker's hands.

"Lead detective Alonzo Gates is waiting for us. He said that when we land he'll hand over the files on our other nine missing women. We have no idea how often this unsub is killing so we need to get to work. Garcia you're coming with us this time. Wheels up in 20" Hotch ordered as the team dispersed.

* * *

The team departed the plane at around 2pm into the sticky Louisiana humidity that signified that it was indeed summer.

"Oh my god I'm going to melt" Garcia whined as the team was met by an African-American man in his late 50's with a shaved head, goatee, and his short-sleeved dress shirt drenched in sweat.

"Detective Alonzo Gates" he introduced himself as he stretched out his hand to Hotch.

"Thank you for meeting us detective, I'm Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner and this is SSA Prentiss, Rossi, Morgan, Jareau, Dr. Reid, and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia. If you'd like to head to the precinct now we can get started on the case."

"Follow me then" Gates replied as Morgan, Emily, Garcia, and JJ hopped into one SVU and Rossi, Hotch, and Reid got into the other with Gates.

"What you thinking Prentiss?" Morgan asked as he followed Gates' car, noting that Emily was abnormally quiet as she gazed out the car window.

"This case, it doesn't make sense. The women who were victimized were prostitutes and drug addicts who were raped and tortured by our unsub, but the way he stages the dump site, it's pious. The bodies are staged with care, it shows remorse. They were humiliated when they were raped and branded, but then he tries to save them their dignity by making sure their bodies are found clothed and almost angelic? There is obviously remorse, but I don't see how the unsub who committed this level of torture could be capable of remorse."

"What are you saying?" JJ asked as she tugged on her seatbelt so she could move forward to hear Emily better.

"I think there is more than one unsub."

"Come on Prentiss."

"Morgan look at the disconnect between the crimes and where the bodies were found."

"I don't know" Morgan said skeptical of the new theory. "It is rare."

"Well to be fair to gumdrop, so is everything else about this case" Garcia stated with a sigh. She was dreading the technical deficiencies the small town station was going to have.

"It's just a hunch" Emily admitted as she stared out at the lush Louisiana landscape, adjusting the car vents so the air conditioning would hit her better. "I fucking hate it here" Emily mumbled as the rest of the car chuckled. This was going to be a difficult case, and it was just about to get more interesting.

**As always reviews let me know that people are interested in reading this. So if you want me to continue please tell me otherwise I'll just delete it. **

**Thanks for reading and ****reviewing. **


	2. Missing Fingernails

The Abbeville, Louisiana police precinct was quiet, eerily quiet. The state police officers were all gathered around to observe the FBI team walk into the smallest conference room space they had ever seen. Typically the crimes around this area where drug related, or occasionally a domestic dispute. But a possible eighteen bodies wasn't seen here often. It rattled the town, and to be honest, it rattled the police force. They didn't know what, or who they were looking for. So a wave of relief washed over Troop I when the BAU agreed to take the case. Of course, the different detectives complained and groaned that they didn't need the FBI's help, but they were secretly all appreciative of it.

The team's temporary work space was lit by flickering florescence lights and contained a large rectangular conference room table with office chairs surrounding it. In the room there was a white board, which Reid had requested, and a coffee maker in the corner on the floor, which Reid had also requested.

"Where are your outlets?" Garcia asked as she looked to a single outlet near the edge of the table. She was anticipating that the precinct would be a little behind on the times, but this was just plain ridiculous.

"Right there ma'am" Gates said as he pointed to the outlet Garcia was staring at. He was obviously embarrassed by the lack of equipment the precinct had to offer, but so little time was spent in the precinct anyway that hardly anyone cared. "I'm sorry ma'am but most of our equipment is at headquarters in Baton Rogue."

"Oh it's fine" she replied as she waved him off and took out her portable surge protector to begin to set up her computer.

"So what do you have so far with leads?" Hotch asked as Gates handed him the stack of missing person's reports.

"We're looking for a man between his late twenties to early thirties. He would have an explosive temper, he would get off on power. The man is a sadist. Do any of your possible subjects fit that description?" Rossi questioned as Gates looked perplexed.

"He is aroused by the torture aspect of his crimes as much as the sexual aspect" Emily clarified as Gates nodded to denote his understanding. "But you know what bothers me?"

"Other than your team theory?" JJ inquired as Reid bumped into her, trying to unravel a large map to begin working on his geological profile. Whoever was committing his crimes was very comfortable in the wetlands.

"Yeah" Emily said as she stood to face the map with Reid, "The victims were strangled. That's a pretty violent act, normally victims fight back. Typically, unless the victims were drugged, there would be some sort of DNA under the victim's fingernails. Even if we couldn't match it, it would still be there. These girls weren't drugged, he's a sadist, he wanted them to feel extreme pain. So why didn't they fight back?"

"You think they knew our unsub?" Morgan asked as he helped Garcia plug her computer in under the table.

"Their fingernails were gone though, remember?" Reid reminded Emily.

Emily sighed as she ran her hands through her hair, "Fuck, you're right. I don't know, but something is off."

Gates rubbed the back of his neck before he spoke up, "Here's the thing. I have a working theory about who did this. The man is named Dewitt Squire, he's a meth cook and distributor. His sister Rhoda runs this little bunny ranch about twenty miles outside of town."

"Bunny ranch?" Reid question as he turned away from the board to face Gates and the rest of the team.

"Like prostitutes Reid, you did grow up in Vegas" Emily teased as Gates chuckled.

"Anyway Rhoda owns this ranch that all of our girls have worked at. Dewitt Squire is a violent guy, he's come in contact with the prostitutes. I thought he was a good bet."

"Sounds like he might be" Hotch agreed. "How old?"

"Thirty-one and he's 6'4" and about 230 pounds."

"He wouldn't need to restrain the victims considering his size" JJ remarked as the rest of the team nodded in agreement. It sounded more and more like this Dewitt Squire was a good bet for their unsub.

Hotch furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. He had a feeling that this wasn't as clear-cut as it seemed. "Then why haven't you brought him in yet?"

"He's tough to find, he holes up in some unknown meth den. Fucking Rhoda won't talk and no one knows where the fuck he is, except for undercover ops. After Katrina there are a thousand condemned shitholes he could hide in, excuse my language" Gates apologized after his rant.

"Okay where is your undercover ops unit?"

Gates shook his head in frustration, "The entire unit for the south of Louisiana is run out of Baton Rogue. But I was able to get my captain to call the fucker who runs this region for you. He works out of Lafayette but he lives here in Abbeville. He should have been here half an hour ago."

"You think he's not showing?"

"He's always late" Gates complained. "It's like they have my teenage son running the Louisiana State Police Special Investigations Unit. He treats me like a dinosaur."

Hotch ran his heads through his hair in frustration. He wasn't planning on serving as referee between two divisions of the State Police on top of trying to solve the case. "Garcia and Reid work here. Garcia you're on standby for any information we have to run through you. Reid, work our a geological profile. We need to get a pattern together to see where he is dumping the victim's bodies, maybe we can find him through his comfort zone. JJ and Rossi, work on victim's family's interviews. Morgan go to the M.E., see if you can find anything that they might have missed to add to the profile. I'll go visit the dump sites with Gates, Prentiss help Reid until our undercover man shows" Hotch commanded as he left the conference room with Gates close behind.

Before Morgan left the room Emily grabbed him by his t-shirt, "Check the fingernails."

"Prentiss there is no fingernails."

"I know, just check to see if there's anything off about them."

"There is no fingernails, that is what is off" Morgan softly told her as he walked away.

Emily huffed in frustration as she went back to staring at the large map with Reid. "See anything?"

"No. You?"

"Louisiana" Emily said dryly with a smirk as she sat back down to read case files. All the times of death were put as sometime early Monday morning. Why Mondays of all days? What was the significance of killing on a Monday?

* * *

Most of the afternoon had yielded very little results. Hotch and Gates didn't find anything noteworthy at the swampy crime scenes, and the families knew next to nothing about their deceased loved ones. Most of the women had cut off all contact with their families months, if not years, before their deaths. Reid also wasn't finding any luck with a geological profile. It looked like whoever was committing these crimes was very familiar with the entire Vermilion Parish region. Maybe they were a local? No, they were definitely a local. Meanwhile, Garcia and Emily felt utterly useless waiting around for something to do. There were no searches for Garcia to run and the undercover Lieutenant had yet to show. However, it was Emily's instinct about the fingernails that helped the team find their first possible piece of information.

Nothing was jumping out at Morgan during his visit to the Medical Examiner, Leroy French. Out of desperation he thought he might as well ask Emily's question. "What about the fingernails?"

"All pulled out while the victims were still alive" French responded firmly.

"Can I see the pictures?"

"Sure" French offered as he went to grab his personal photos of the bodies. But there was something that stood out about the photos, something that made Morgan a bit wary of the local medical examiner. The bodies had no evidence of being restrained, and, yet, where the fingernails were pulled out looked like a clean removal, too clean. There was no bruising, no sign that the women struggled during the torture. It didn't sit right with Morgan, Emily was right. There was something off about this case, and maybe Dewitt Squire was just too easy. "Thank you, you're right there was nothing" Morgan lied to Dr. French.

"I wish I could help you more" the middle-aged balding man offered as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Oh you've done plenty" Morgan cryptically said as he left the medical examiner's office and texted Hotch.

**Something is strange about M.E. reports. Talk at hotel.**

* * *

A few hours and two cups of green tea later Emily noticed someone tapping on the wood conference room table. Reid went out to get dinner and Garcia went to check the team into the hotel, so who was tapping? Emily hated tapping, it was obnoxious and childish. Is it really that much more arduous of a task to actually say something rather than bang on a table? Emily huffed in frustration as she glanced up at the man who was looking down at her.

He looked to be in his mid to late twenties, was about as tall as Hotch and had a lean but obviously muscular body. His face had a boyish charm about it and he had an enviable strong jaw line. Emily noticed that he had a perfect side profile that showcased his bone structure. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a plain white t-shirt and a St. Christopher's Medallion on a gold chain. His dark blonde hair peaked out of the sides of his backwards black Red Sox baseball cap and he had a hint of a five o'clock shadow.

"You must be Agent Prentiss" he commented in a slight Boston accent as he placed his right hand on the conference room table and leaned against it, crossing one of his legs over the other.

"I am, and you are?" Emily asked politely as she gazed into his intense brilliant green-blue eyes.

"Christian Cavanagh. I'm the guy with the undercover op you're trying to fuck up."

**Any hunches about the case so far? **


	3. You're an Asshole…No Offense

**To any wondering, this is not an instance of love at first sight...**

"You must be Agent Prentiss" he commented in a slight Boston accent.

"I am, and you are?" Emily asked politely as she looked him in his intense brilliant green-blue eyes.

"Christian Cavanagh, I'm the guy with the undercover op you're trying to fuck up" he said casually as he took off his baseball cap and tossed in on the conference room table in front of Emily, prompting her to roll her eyes.

"Ever the consummate professional I see" she remarked sarcastically as she scanned his body while he leaned against the conference room table.

"So why am I here on my day off?"

"We need to get into contact with Dewitt Squire. We want your undercover man to tell us where he is" she stated firmly as Christian shook his head and grinned.

"Did you bring your lip gloss?"

"What?" Emily asked, confused by his line of questioning.

Christian shrugged, "Personally I liked to be kissed before I get fucked."

"Ugh" Emily groaned as she rolled her eyes. _What a fucking charmer. _She had grown up with entitled assholes her entire life and she assumed that Christian Cavanagh was no different. "You are now interfering with a federal investigation by withholding access to your witness. Now am I going to ask you again, do you currently have an undercover officer with Squire?"

Christian ran his hands through his short hair, which was lightly mussed at the front, "You know my theory on feds? Treat them like mushrooms, feed them shit and keep them in dark."

"Wow, that was so enlightening. You know I would have respected the line more if it wasn't from a movie" Emily shot back with a glare that quickly turned into a smirk when she saw Christian face shift from being smug to embarrassed. _Point Prentiss _she internally praised herself. "Do you always use Scorsese movie quotes to try to make yourself sound tough?"

"No, those are what my Mary Poppins quotes are for."

"Lieutenant Cavanagh, I'm tired of playing games so either you hand over your undercover man or I'll arrest you right now" Emily threatened as she got up from her chair and stood directly in front of Christian.

"Like that'll hold up in court" Christian stated as he rolled his eyes. He wasn't intimidated by anyone, not even Emily Prentiss. "What's this all about?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you." Emily knew it wasn't necessarily true. She could very well tell Christian about the case, but she didn't want to. He was cocky, arrogant, and just plain annoying. She wanted this conversation to be over as soon as possible so she could get back to work, and if she could irritate him too, well that was even better.

"Bullshit" Christian argued. "Listen, I do not trust feds so you if want a chance at my guy you're going to tell me what is going on."

"What are you a toddler? You going to throw a fit when you don't get your way?"

"Are you?" Christian shot back.

"To be frank with you, I don't care who you trust or who do you not trust. I'm not your therapist…"

"Who said I'm in therapy?"

Emily crossed her arms, "Well if you aren't yet I highly suggest it." Christian laughed her response, "I expect that name" she ordered in a stern voice as he nonchalantly took a sip of her tea. "That was mine" Emily growled as Christian put the mug back down on the table.

"Oh so you want me to share with you but you won't share with me. Is that how it is Agent Prentiss?"

Emily scoffed at his defense, "Fine. Jokes on you anyway, I have a cold."

"And I have Ebola" Christian quipped as Emily shook her head. A smirk appeared on Christian's face as he put the pieces together about why the FBI was in town. "Do not tell me that this is about the missing prostitutes case? When are you people going to get it, this is not the work of fucking Dewitt Squire? The guy is fucking moron, there is no way he could plan out a murder, let alone murders, like this. They call him Dimwit Squire."

"Why is that?"

"It's pretty self-explanatory _agent_" Christian replied in a snarky tone.

"You're an asshole…no offense" Emily added sarcastically.

"No offense taken, I consider being called an asshole only the highest of honors. And from Agent Prentiss no less, it's like the fucking Medal of Honor."

"You curse a lot."

Christian shrugged, "I'm from Boston. I'm been genetically engineered to revere the Kennedys and treat 'Fuck' like a verb, noun, adjective, and a preposition combined into one. So Prentiss where you from?" He questioned as he moved closer to her.

Emily scoffed at the question, "I am _so_ not doing this with you."

"Doing what?"

"This."

"What is this?" Christian asked, trying to feign innocence while hiding a smile.

"I'm not doing this 'they hate each other until they start flirting shtick' with you."

"You mean 'hate each other until they start fucking schtick?'" Christian inquired in a matter of fact tone. "Who are you Sigmund fucking Freud? You think everything relates back to sex?" Emily laughed bitterly at Christian's accusation, "But if you want to have sex I'd be up for it" he offered with a wink. "I could do worse."

Emily shook her head in disbelief, "I couldn't."

Christian laughed at the insult, "Let's test out your hypothesis then."

"I have a gun."

"Then use it."

Emily groaned at the statement and redirected the conversation back to the murders, "Why do you think Dewitt Squire is innocent?"

"I never said he was innocent, he just didn't commit this crime. Dewitt is reactive, he is not the proactive one. Rhoda is the proactive one. She's the planner. She runs everything, Dewitt is just her giant idiot brother bodyguard that also happens to enjoy meth. That's his job in the family business."

"Family business?"

A small smile appeared on Christian's face, "Yeah, they're basically the meth and prostitution's version of the Cleavers."

Emily ignored his joke and cut to the chase, "Do you think they would work together on it?"

"Rhoda only cares about money so no, there was nothing for her to gain. Plus, neither is exactly into praying" Christian informed her as he scratched his jaw line. "It's not them, this is not what they are about. You know why they don't ever get caught? It's because they don't pull shit like this. They don't kill someone just to kill someone, there is always a purpose to the kill. Rhoda makes sure of that."

"I want to talk to your undercover guy anyway" Emily ordered in a determined tone.

"Well I want to play third base for the Sox and be paid in candy but that's not going to happen either."

"Lieutenant" Emily warned.

"That is not going to happen, just accept it and move on" Christian requested as he crossed his arms across his chest, unknowingly mirroring Emily's body language.

"I'm not asking."

"And?"

"And?" Emily exhaled sharply in frustration. "Stop being such an egomaniacal self-centered jerk and just help on the case. I don't care if you hate the FBI or whatever, women are dying. This isn't about you. The world does not revolve around Christian Cavanagh."

"I'm not saying it does."

"Why won't you help then?" Emily inquired in her best 'Agent Prentiss' voice. She didn't trust Christian, and she was trusting him less and less each time he refused to help on the investigation.

"Because it's a fucking waste of time and resources" Christian replied in a confident tone.

"Oh I see, you don't care. It doesn't matter to because they victims are drug addicts and prostitutes" Emily asserted in an accusatory tone.

Christian's voice became softer at the accusation. He didn't want anyone, even Agent Prentiss, to think that he was that heartless. Quite frankly the victim's misgivings had nothing to do with why he didn't want his undercover officer involved in the case. "It isn't that I don't want to help, but every time I meet with my guy it puts him in danger. And I am telling you that Dewitt and Rhoda are not involved so basically I'm putting my man in danger for no good reason. He thinks he's being watched already. If they found out he was talking to not only the police but the feds too..." Christian took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes, "It's 7pm anyway, I'll think about it and get back to you tomorrow. Give me your card" he politely ordered as he put his baseball cap back on.

"Fine" Emily huffed as she handed over a business card. "But I expect a name tomorrow."

Emily walked Christian out of the conference room and towards the hallway. "Let me explain how undercover operations work…" Christian began before Emily raised her hand and interrupted him.

"Trust me, I know all about how they work."

"Oh really? Have you ever been undercover?" Christian challenged, oblivious to who he was talking to.

"Yeah, you?"

"Boston, took down an influential Irish mobster and entire his crew" Christian replied in a cocky voice. "You?"

"International arms dealer and terrorist" Emily answered as she closed the conference room door on Christian's dumbfounded face, walking away with a pep in her step and a lopsided grin. She had most defiantly won that round.

After she walked back to the conference room table Emily took out her cellphone and called Hotch.

"Hey, I think that Lieutenant Cavanagh might be hiding something about the case. Yeah, he was really cagey about everything. Mind if I have Garcia do a search on him? Thanks. Yeah, I'm heading back to the hotel soon."

* * *

Hotch hung up the phone after speaking with Emily and turned to look at Gates. "So who was this undercover officer that my agent was waiting for?" Hotch asked as Gate's car drove through the rural Louisiana highways back into town from the wetlands.

"You mean Police officer Jr.? He's young" Gates grunted.

"How young?"

"Early thirties, too young to run his own unit if you ask me. But no one did."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's a fucking hot-shot from Boston, he has his own way of doing things. He acts like we're all a bunch of country bumpkins. But I'll admit he's good at what he does. The brass in Baton Rouge think he can bring down the Squire family. I think he's reckless, that he takes unnecessary risks."

"Why is that?"

Gates continued to drive at the same fast pace, staring out the front of the windshield at the vacant road in front of him. "He actually put an undercover guy in Dewitt Squire's crew. That's reason enough" was all Gates said as the car became silent again.

**Yes, Christian Cavanagh is hiding something, but what is it? It involves his undercover officer. **

**What are your thoughts on our newest snarky Lieutenant? ****Any predictions?**


	4. Sifting Through The Past

**More is revealed about Christian Cavanagh's background and a Garcia/Morgan/Emily/JJ scene is also coming up.**

"Who was _that_?" Garcia questioned loudly as she burst through the police precinct conference room door, where Emily was sitting alone reading through the stacks of missing persons reports from the tri-state area.

"Who?"

"That P-Y-T who was working those dark wash jeans like a boss" Garcia theatrically said with a meow.

Emily shook her head and smiled at the technical analyst, "PYT?"

"Pretty young thing obviously. You do have eyes right? The perfect bone structure, the piercing eyes, the slightly tortured gaze, the confident swagger…I think I'm in love. So anyway Emster, really, who was that? Did you talk to him? What did he say?"

"Lieutenant Cavanagh, he runs the undercover unit for the area and won't cooperate with us. I actually was hoping you could look into his background, there's something about him I don't trust."

Garcia crossed her arms and pouted, "He's too hot to be an unsub. How can I ogle him if he's out murdering people?"

Emily chuckled at her friend, "Trust me PG, he's an asshole anyway."

"But maybe he's a lovable asshole with a heart of gold. You know what? I'm going to call him 'sinfully delicious.'"

"Well good luck with that" Emily remarked sarcastically as she put down her stacks of files. "Now can you run his background for me before we head to the hotel?"

"Fine" Garcia agreed as she opened up her laptop. "Name?"

"Christian Cavanagh."

"Even his name is dreamy" Garcia commented with a sigh as she began to type furiously as Emily hovered over her. "Okay Christian D…"

"Diarmuid, it's pronounced like deer mid" Emily clarified.

"Irish?"

"Very Irish, he might as well be named O'Kennedy McIrish" Emily answered as Garcia giggled.

"Okay Christian Diarmuid Cavanagh was born at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts on November 22, 1981…he's a month younger than Reid!"

"Penelope, I want to be able to go to the room sometime this year" Emily reminded firmly.

"Right, sorry, I was just distracted by those eyes" Garcia admitted as she stared at the computer screen. "Do you think they're they blue or green? They look like they change colors depending on his mood."

"Garcia."

"Sorry" Garcia apologized again as she lifted her arms to surrender in response to Emily's glare. "Okay Christian Diarmuid Cavanagh was born the only son of Sean Patrick Cavanagh Jr., a groundskeeper and street sweeper, and socialite Juliet Forbes Markham. Ooh and scandal alert" Garcia said in a giddy voice as she clapped her hands excitedly.

"What?" Emily asked hopefully, thinking that Garcia might have found something that connected him to the case.

"Okay, so his father's side of the family is lower middle class at best. Grandpa Sean Cavanagh Sr. was often unemployed and his wife Patricia supported the family by working as a hospital cafeteria worker. However, our dear Christian Cavanagh's mother was totally loaded. Her parents were the rich old money types and her father, Clayton Markham, was actually very politically active and even served in Congress. Yada Yada Yada, Christian's parents divorced and he lived with his mother in Brookline and was supported by his grandparents. That was until his mother died from a horse riding accident when he was six. It looks like there was a fierce custody battle between rich grandparents and poor father. Poor father won and Christian was cut off financially and sent to live with papa bear in South Boston."

"That's a big change."

"Don't you know it. He was pulled out of private school, where he had attended the ultra-elite Dexter School, and was then sent to various underperforming public schools like James Condon Elementary School, Perry K-8 School, and then he graduated from South Boston High School. Cavanagh did poorly in school and was frequently suspended for getting into fights and cutting classes, but he got near perfect SAT scores and attended Notre Dame on a baseball scholarship" Garcia rambled off all in one breath.

"Are you almost done?" Emily huffed in boredom. She felt that she now knew more about this Christian Cavanagh than herself.

"Do not interrupt" Garcia warned with a glare. "So as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by she who shall not be named…"

"I'm the only one here."

"Rude" Garcia chided with a smile. "So Cavanagh was a smart kid and he did well at Notre Dame. He was pre-law until his father was murdered in a street mugging gone wrong during his junior year. After he finished college he didn't go to law school, as planned, and joined the Massachusetts State Police after graduation instead. After the academy his work history goes cold until three years later when he was promoted to homicide detective, a position he held for three years."

"He was undercover."

"That is precisely what I was thinking. Then in 2008 he transferred to the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, where he stayed until two years ago, when he transferred here with a promotion. Everything else is clean gumdrop, nothing dirty in his financials, nothing that connects him to our crime."

"So he's not an unsub then, just your garden variety jackass" Emily chuckled as Garcia's face sunk.

"Stop being mean to my new crush" she ordered as she hit the brunette playfully on the arm.

"If you talked to him for more than thirty seconds you'd agree with me."

"Oh come on Emily, we both know that deep down you are into him. Like a lioness on the prowl…"

"Garcia, I assure you I am not into him whatsoever" Emily genuinely said before giving the other woman a quick smile. "Come on let's go" she suggested as she started packing up her things.

* * *

"So you were right" Morgan commented as he walked up to Emily and Garcia in the rundown hotel's small parking lot.

"What about?" Emily asked as she pulled her go-bag out of the car.

"About something being off about the fingernails" Morgan said as he helped Garcia carry a few of her belongings, taking her bags out of the car for her while she was on a phone call. "Something about their removal was off."

"Did you ask the M.E. about it?"

"I think he is more of the problem than the solution" he ventured. "He doesn't fit the profile. I saw the guy, he doesn't look like he could restrain anyone by himself, even if they were drug-addled women."

"But our vics weren't drugged."

"Exactly, plus the victims had bruising that is consistent with them fighting for their lives. But he's involved somehow. You were right, something is definitely not adding up. I don't know, I want to dig through his life tomorrow with baby girl."

"If he is involved this case just got more fucked up."

"How so?" Garcia asked as she exited the car after calling Kevin.

"Because our M.E. reports are tampered with" Emily replied as she rubbed her eyes in frustration.

Morgan took a deep breath as he stared down at the bag he was carrying with a look of disgust, "Damn baby girl. What did you pack in here? Bricks?"

Garcia and Emily laughed at his complaining, "Is it too heavy for a big strong man like you Morgan?" Emily teased as she walked towards the hotel's outdoor stairwell. It wasn't the nicest place to lodge, and there wasn't much of a lobby, with most of the rooms coming off an outdoor balcony.

"Whatever Prentiss. Did your undercover guy ever show up?"

"Oh did he ever" Garcia remarked seductively to Morgan with a wink.

"Is that so?"

Emily rolled her eyes at Garcia's antics, "She's being way too nice about him. First, he shows up three hours late and doesn't even have the decency to apologize. Second, he accused me of, and I quote, 'fucking up his undercover op.' And finally, after all of his shitty behavior, he refuses to help on the case. So yeah, he was a real peach" Emily said sarcastically as she concluded her rant.

"So you think he'll help us?" Morgan asked as they approached the women's hotel room.

"Why is it so humid?" Garcia whined as she knocked on the door, begging for JJ to let her in.

Emily chuckled at JJ's flushed face when she opened the door, "There is no air conditioning."

"WHAT?!" The entire group yelled as their faces sunk in disappointment.

"It's broken."

"Just your room right?" Morgan asked hopefully as he entered into the room and put Garcia's bag on the floor, taking a seat on her bed.

"The entire second floor" JJ answered with a small grin. At least the rest of the team was going to have to suffer with them. "And the first floor was flooded and is probably full of mold judging by how this place keeps up its maintenance."

"So we can either die of heat exhaustion or be poisoned by mold. How delightful" Emily mumbled sarcastically as JJ shrugged in reply. "I fucking hate this dump" she groaned as she started to make her way into the room, collapsing on the bed she was going to have to share with JJ.

"Princess is he going to help us?"

"What?" Emily questioned, already forgetting what she and Morgan were talking about.

"Your undercover man."

JJ smiled in excitement, "You met a man."

"Yeah, he was a total dick" Emily remarked to a disappointed JJ.

"Is he going to help us?" Morgan asked again, getting increasingly irritated by how long the simple question was taking to answer.

"He's supposed to call me."

"He's going to call her" JJ quietly said, nudging Garcia who was nodding at her excitedly. "What is it about Louisiana detectives that make them so dreamy?"

Emily, Morgan, and Garcia all shared a look in response to the rhetorical question JJ had asked. Sure, they liked Will, he was an okay guy. But none of them would describe him "dreamy." Dopey, yes. Dreamy, not exactly. JJ picked up on the uncomfortable silence and put her hands on her hips before turning to Emily. "Do you have something snarky to add?"

"No, it's just, just, that Cavanagh isn't a detective he's an undercover unit supervisor. That's what we all meant" Emily awkwardly claimed as the rest of the group nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"Oh okay" JJ replied happily. "I'm going to take a shower."

"That was close" Emily softly stated as JJ walked into the room's bathroom.

Garcia cringed and nodded as she sat down on the bed next to Morgan, "Yeah, so back to sinfully delicious…."

"Baby girl who is sinfully delicious?"

"Obviously Christian Cavanagh. My dear chocolate Adonis, please try to keep up" Garcia laughed as she refocused on Emily, "You two need to bang it out."

"Bang it out?" Emily asked skeptically, hoping that Garcia wasn't suggesting what she thought she was.

"You know, do the hokey pokey, make the beast with two backs, do the no pants dance, shuck the oyster, slam the ham..."

"OH MY GOD PLEASE STOP!" Emily loudly begged as she looked and mouthed 'slam the ham?' to Morgan, who looked equally horrified and shook his head.

Garcia tilted her head and side eyed Emily, "Emster please, we both know that you have spent way too much time DJ'ing at your own party if you know what I mean" she hinted with a wink as Morgan cracked up beside her.

Emily sighed as she rubbed her temples, "What have I done to deserve this? I mean, was I Cruella de Vil in a past life or something? Okay I am not going to say this again so listen up because I want to make this very clear. I would rather be shot in the face than have sex with Christian Cavanagh."

"Sure" Garcia replied sarcastically.

"Now can we please drop it?"

"Fine" Garcia huffed. "What are we having for dinner?" She asked as JJ entered back into the room wearing casual clothes with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

"I thought I heard you say something about ham. I could go for that" JJ offered as the group started laughing again.

They needed some time to decompress before heading back to the disturbing case waiting for them at the police precinct.

**Is the medical examiner ****involved? If so how is he involved? **

**Predictions?**

**The next chapter features more time working the case.**


	5. Am I Getting Closer?

**There is a red herring in this case, as some of you have guessed, but I'm not revealing what it is…yet.**

**Emily profiles Christian in this chapter…like that'll go over well. **

"Let's go over what we have so far. Morgan, you said there was something that bothered you about the Medical Examiner?" Hotch asked the team early the next morning. The unit was seated around the table, all shuffling through files, hoping to find a new lead. Due to the unrelenting heat none of them had a good night's sleep and most of the team was irritable and dragging. They were running on coffee and pure adrenaline.

"Yeah, I want to get a second opinion on the body, especially the fingernails. Something about their removal isn't sitting right with me. I need to confirm when they were removed."

"I'll request the photos from French and have them sent to H.Q. in Baton Rouge" Detective Gates offered from the corner of the room where he was standing.

"That would be helpful" Hotch replied appreciatively. "Leroy French does not fit our profile, but Morgan" Hotch began as he turned to the younger man, "I want you to find any connections that French may have to someone who would fit the profile. Maybe he is covering for our unsub. If there is anything there, you and Garcia will find it. Currently our profile is a male between the ages of 25 to 35. He would be very physically fit and would have grown up in the area. He knows the entire region and is comfortable in it. He also knows the patterns of the people who live in close proximity to the dump sites and is able to avoid being detected dumping the bodies. The dump sites are rural, and our unsub is also confident that he has time to stage the bodies without being disturbed. Gates and I have also established that the women were not raped or killed at the sites where their bodies were found."

"There were fabric fragments found under their toenails" Morgan cut in. "They were probably killed in the unsub's home."

"Anything unique about the fabric?" Emily asked as she took a sip of coffee.

"Report said that it was a common carpet used in mobile homes and travel trailers."

Emily sighed as she leaned back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Yeah that doesn't help us."

"Reid anything yet on the geological profile?" Hotch asked as the conference room door opened. The entire team turned to face a familiar figure that jarred Emily. He had forgone the baseball cap, but was once again casually dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a dark grey t-shirt, wearing his ever-present St. Christopher's Medallion.

"Sorry I'm late" Christian offered, not sounding all that genuine.

"Thank you Lieutenant, let me just finish this up and we'll get to you" Hotch politely offered as he turned back to Reid, who went on to discuss the different patterns he had tried but that hadn't yielded any results.

"Is that him?" JJ whispered to Garcia who nodded. "You weren't kidding, he's gorgeous."

Christian walked further into the room and took an empty seat next to Emily, who groaned as soon as he sat down. "Agent Prentiss."

"Lieutenant" Emily coldly greeted as she stared ahead at a babbling Reid before turning to face Christian, "You didn't call me."

"Oh yes I did. You did not answer" Christian challenged as he took out of phone and tapped on it. "I also sent you a text, which you did not reply to. So now who's the unprofessional one?" he questioned smugly as Emily looked down to her phone, with JJ and Garcia intently watching the interaction.

"Shit" she mumbled as she noticed the missed call. "You called me at 11pm."

"It took time to contact my guy" he shrugged.

"And where is your guy?"

"We're going to meet him. Our meeting place is three hours away" he informed her as he looked at his watch.

"We?" Emily questioned with a raised eyebrow, garnering Hotch's attention.

"Yes" Hotch answered her as he addressed the group. "This is Lieutenant Cavanagh, he will joining us on the case while we look into the possibility of Dewitt Squire as our unsub." Christian leaned back in his chair and nodded for Hotch to go on, "Prentiss you'll be with Cavanagh today, you're heading out to…"

"Mud Lake" Christian answered with an evil grin as he turned to Emily. "You might want to change, the lake is aptly named."

Emily scowled at the news. She didn't care about getting dirty, she was used to that. However, there was no way in hell she wanted to be trapped in a car for six hours with Christian fucking Cavanagh. "Hotch I was thinking about interviewing Rhoda Squire, if that's okay."

"Rossi and I already have that covered Prentiss. JJ you're going to be interviewing associates of the victims with Detective Gates. Cavanagh and Prentiss, I have an address for you to go to on the way back from Mud Lake. Janice Dupree was a friend of Jamie-Lynn DeMarco who was our first missing girl who fit the profile. Her body was never found. Dupree was the one who reported her missing back in 2003. See if you can find out if she remembers anything. Are you all clear on your assignments?" Hotch inquired as he rose from his chair.

"Yeah" Emily grumbled as she turned to face Christian. "Let's go" she instructed as she motioned for him to follow her, glaring at JJ, Morgan, and Garcia before they could say anything.

"It's nice to meet you Christian. My God, I just love your name. Christian Cavanagh you just sound like a movie star. Hi, well, my name is Penelope Garcia. Yeah, I know, Garcia. What? You're not hispanic. Long story short my stepfather was of hispanic origin, although I am not. I heard you're Irish, well of course you're Irish. Your name is Cavanagh and you're from Boston. I don't know if I could live in Boston, too cold for my liking. Anyway I am the resident technical genius, oracle and all-knowing extraordinaire so if you ever, and I mean ever, need any computer related help you know where to find me" Garcia rambled off with a smile.

"You have excellent lung capacity" Christian complimented with a perplexed look.

"I'm JJ" JJ simply greeted with a handshake.

"Yeah well we should go, nice to meet you" Christian remarked relatively politely before walking off.

'So hot' JJ mouthed to Emily, who just rolled her eyes in response as she followed Christian into the parking lot. She sighed as she watched him enter into a silver BMW. This was going to be a long drive.

* * *

"So your guy is really meeting us right?" Emily questioned as Christian pulled on to the highway.

"No, I was just working an angle to be stuck in a car with you for six hours" Christian sarcastically replied as he turned on the radio.

"I'm pleasant, you're the one whose a dick."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really" Emily huffed as she crossed her arms. "So why are you even here?"

Christian shook his head at the question, "You want to talk to my guy or not?"

"I want to talk to _him._ I'd prefer to never have to interact with you again" Emily clarified as she adjusted the air conditioning vents.

"Oh like you were so friendly yesterday. You threatened me with deadly force."

"You should be grateful that I didn't use it."

"You know Louisiana has capital punishment right?" Christian asked with a small smile. He liked bantering with the feisty brunette. She wasn't like other women, she called him on his shit. It reminded him of Boston.

"So why are you here? What are you doing in Louisiana?"

"You're the fortune-teller, you tell me" Christian challenged as Emily turned to face him.

"I'm not a fortune-teller. I'm profiler, I study human behavior."

"Okay so tell me why I'm here."

"You don't want to do this."

Christian scoffed at the warning, "I've never been afraid of a fed before and I'm not starting today."

"Fine" Emily said bitterly. "You left Boston because nothing you did made it feel better. No matter how many criminals you put away it didn't bring him back. Did it?" Emily asked as she noticed Christian's body become rigid. "No matter how hard you tried it didn't erase how it felt when you found out that he was killed, and maybe home was forever tainted because of it."

"What are you talking about?" Christian snapped as he gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckled became white.

"Your father."

Christian laughed at Emily's assessment at him, "You don't know anything about my father. I didn't tell you anything about my father…"

"He was murdered when you were in college" Emily interrupted.

"Wow, what did you do look through my fucking files? Is that what you did? I bet you had that fucking wizard do it for you" he accused in an irate voice.

"She's an oracle" Emily argued as Christian started to laugh again.

"And you wonder why people hate feds. You're a real piece of work, you know that."

Emily waved him off, "Oh please you basically begged me to profile you and you didn't like what you heard. You didn't like that I had your number within ten seconds of meeting you..."

"Yeah keep telling yourself that. What I heard was a load of bullshit."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, it was such a load of fucking bullshit that I bet you really fucking suck at your job. It's not a surprise that you haven't found this guy yet and you need me to bail your ass out by getting my undercover guy involved" he shot back with a spiteful tone.

Emily shook her head in frustration at his comments. "You want me to really profile you? You want that? Fine I will profile you. I think you are nothing more than the same scared little boy you were when you had to move from Brookline to the Southie projects. And instead of dealings with your insecurities like an adult, you just act like an asshole. You use it as your defense to hide from the world because you can't handle rejection. Just like that scared little boy did almost thirty years ago. Did I get that right Lieutenant? Am I getting closer?" She loudly asked as Christian swallowed and opened his mouth to say something but closed it before he did.

Emily leaned her head against the car door window and closed her eyes as they spent most of the drive in silence.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hotch and Rossi pulled off a rural street up to a large closed gate, which enclosed a small rundown trailer park with overgrown shrubbery abound. A woman quickly made her way outside of one of the trailers to approach the SVU. Unfortunately there was nothing the team could charge Rhoda with, so their questioning would have to take place on her turf.

"Rhoda Squire, nice place you have here" Rossi sarcastically remarked as he and Hotch exited the SUV and entered into the trailer compound that she had been using for her prostitution business.

"Just doing the lord's work" Rhoda answered in a raspy voice with grin that showed off her missing bottom teeth. Rhoda Squire looked to be in her late forties, was fairly slim, had long stringy hair, and leathery skin. She was wearing a white tank top with a denim mini skirt and red cowboy boots.

"Is that so?" Hotch asked suspiciously as he sized up the woman in front of him.

Rhoda smiled as pushed up her breasts in a flirtatious manner, "Like what you see daddy?"

"No" Hotch simply replied as Rossi chuckled.

"So Miss Squire, since when is pimping out young girls doing the lord's work?" Rossi inquired as he leaned against the hood of the SUV.

Rhoda shrugged as she took out a cigarette, offering one to the men who declined. "Momma taught her babies manners" she commented as she lit her cigarette. "What were you boys asking?"

"You know" Rossi nearly growled.

"Well you see most of the girls that come to me are addicted to that crank. Poor little tweakers. I try to get them back on track."

"Yeah after your brother gets them addicted" Rossi accused in a stern voice.

"So this is all a charity?" Hotch asked as Rhoda nodded. "How do you make your money to support them then?"

"My pie business, the whole town knows 'bout my pies. They're awfully tasty" she said seductively to Hotch, who moved away from her. It was true, Rhoda owned a small bakery that she used to launder her illegal funds. The place hardly ever had any customers, but according to the financials it was the most popular business in town.

"Just to be clear, we're here for business not pleasure" Hotch clarified.

"Not that anyone, or anything here could bring us pleasure" Rossi spoke up, developing the good cop, bad cop routine the men were going to use. They knew going in that Rhoda Squire was going to try to flirt with Hotch and they were hoping to use that to their advantage.

Rhoda glared at Rossi before turning back to Hotch, "How can I help you?"

"We need to know about the missing girls who worked for you. Did you notice anything different about them, their behavior?"

"What missing girls?"

"Let's start with Ree Kelly. Do you remember anything off about her before she was killed?"

"No" Rhoda quickly replied back to Hotch.

"And your brother, how well does he know your girls?" Rossi asked as he got right up into Rhoda's personal space.

"I haven't seen Dewitt in about three months, and I don't know what he is up to. I pray for him" Rhoda said with a wink to Hotch.

"Are you sure you don't know where Dewitt is? Because if you do and you aren't telling us, you can be charged with accessory to whatever crimes he's committing. Do you understand or do I need to speak slower for you?!"

Rhoda laughed at Rossi, "Oh I understand plenty. And I don't got a fucking clue where my brother is and I suggest it is time for ya'll to leave 'less you're making some arrests."

"You are running a prostitution ring and I am willing to bet that some of these girls are underage" Hotch threatened.

"I'd worry more if our D.A. wasn't a customer. His brother in law the Captain either" Rhoda chuckled as she walked away, swaying her assets as she did.

"You think she's right?" Hotch asked Rossi as they entered back into the SUV.

"About the D.A. and Captain?"

"Yeah" Hotch sighed.

"It would explain why this place hasn't been shut down yet" Rossi replied buckling his seatbelt as Hotch pulled back on the main road.

Hotch took a deep breath, "You think she's involved?"

"With that woman, anything is possible" Rossi cryptically answered. "If Prentiss is right and it is a team, anyone we talked to so far could be our unsub."

"Do you trust Cavanagh?" Hotch asked in a worried voice. Sure he had come up clean, but there had been times that Garcia had missed things on an initial search before.

"No" Rossi responded as he took out his phone to call Morgan.

**Thank you for all of the reviews, it definitely lets me know that people are interested and, in turn, it keeps me motivated to update regularly. I might post two chapters today, we'll see. **

**Do you think Christian is involved? Who are you thinking the unsub is? **

**A.) Rhoda or Dewitt Squire**

**B.) Leroy French**

**C.) Rhoda/Dewitt as a team**

**D.) Another unknown team**


	6. Erotic Chia Pets

**It may not seem like it, but there is a lead on the case in this chapter. It just might take awhile for our favorite BAU team to discover it. **

**Also, are any readers interested in _small _spoilers about the second case of this story? If so, tell me in the reviews section and I may post a couple of hints.**

"Lorraine, you remember anything that seemed off about Ree before she disappeared?" JJ gently asked the frightened young woman in front of her. They were talking outside of a convenience store where the young woman worked. JJ was alone with her, requesting that Gates remain in the car to put the young adult at ease. She was fearful enough as it was, and based on her past she probably wasn't all that comfortable with men. The woman, no girl, looked to be in her late teens, and had pockmarks on her skin from drug use. Lorraine Waldo was slim, but looked somewhat healthy. JJ was able to gage her health by her shiny hair and clear eyes.

"I, she helped me get clean" Lorraine admitted with a soft voice laden with embarrassment.

"You should be proud of that" JJ commented with a smile in a motherly tone. "You should be proud that you were able to stop."

"She inspired me because she was trying and after she died, it's only been a few weeks but…" Lorraine trailed off with a shrug.

"Hey" JJ interrupted softly, "A few weeks is a big deal. Lorraine, you said that Ree inspired you to get clean. How did she do that?"

Lorraine took a deep breath and paused briefly before answering, "Before she died she told me she was getting clean. She started this church program, she wanted me to join her. But I-I couldn't yet." Lorraine choked down a sob, "After she died I promised that if I wasn't doing it for myself I would at least do it for her. I had been addicted for five years already."

_Five years? _"When did you start?" JJ gently prodded.

"Fourteen" Lorraine confessed quietly as she looked off to the side and scanned the fairly empty parking lot.

"And Ree?"

"The same…" Lorraine drifted off.

"When you worked for Rhoda, did you ever see Dewitt? Did he ever try to touch you?"

"No" Lorraine replied firmly.

JJ furrowed her brow in confusion. That didn't make sense at all. Why bother getting the girls addicted if he wasn't interested in them in some sort of sexual capacity. Also, the crimes had a definite sexual element, "Are you sure?"

"I ran away from home when I was fourteen. I was too old for him."

JJ nodded in understanding and took out her card to hand to Lorraine, "If you remember anything."

"I will" Lorraine assured as JJ walked back to the car and took a deep breath before turning around.

"You're doing really well" JJ genuinely stated.

"Thanks" Lorraine replied with a smile as she went back to work.

JJ shook her head at the revelation. It made her sick. Not only did Dewitt Squire habitually get underage girls addicted to drugs so they would work for his sister, prostituting themselves, but he would also sexually abuse children. _Fourteen was too old for him_. The revelation embedded itself in JJ's mind as she absent-mindedly climbed into Gate's white Impala.

"Anything?" He asked as he turned to face her.

"Maybe" JJ answered with an air of optimism as she buckled her seatbelt and took out her phone to call Hotch.

* * *

"And you're positive about that? Okay thank you for your help" Morgan concluded as he hung up the phone and turned to Garcia. "So our M.E. is totally lying, the fingernails were removed post-mortem. I'm thinking that their removal was more about counter-forensics than torture. Emily is right, there is definitely more than one unsub at play."

"Well our Emster is normally right. I blame the Yale education" Garcia reminded him with a smile.

Morgan ran his hands over his head in exhaustion, "Why would French lie on the M.E. report? He must be involved in some way…"

Garcia lifted her hand to interrupt the man, "Derek I told you, French is connected to no one that fits our profile. He had no brothers, no cousins that fit the profile, not so much as a mailman that fits it. Unless we change the profile."

"The profile is right" Reid spoke up as he walked to the table and slumped down into a chair. "Geographically there is no pattern, nothing."

"Are you sure baby girl?" Morgan complained as he rested his head in his hands.

Garcia nodded sadly as she got up to adjust the fan that was struggling to circulate the thick air in the humid room. "I'm sure. Reid?" She asked hopefully.

"Nothing" Reid reiterated with a grunt.

"So Rossi said Rhoda was no help, do you think JJ had any luck?"

"Honestly?" Reid asked.

"Yeah."

"No" Reid admitted as he poured himself another cup of lukewarm coffee.

Morgan chuckled as he looked over to Garcia, "You think Princess killed Sinfully Delicious yet?"

Garcia started laughing at the question, "You just called Cavanagh sinfully delicious." Reid also started snickering at the realization as Morgan shook his head in embarrassment. He had just categorized another man as being 'delicious.'

"This fucking humidity is getting to me" he whined as his phone rang. "Morgan. Yeah, really? You think that is what got them killed? Yeah we'll look into it" Morgan offered as he hung up the phone.

"Hotch?" Garcia asked as she stretched out her fingers.

"Nope, JJ. She said that one of the girls was getting clean and leaving the life behind before she was killed. She joined some sort of church program before she was murdered."

"So are we back to thinking Rhoda is involved?" Reid asked as he finished off his fifth cup of coffee of the day.

"From what Rossi said she sounds like a piece of work. I wouldn't doubt it."

Garcia inhaled sharply getting Morgan's attention, "So are we moving away from French and moving on to Rhoda?"

"Maybe they connect somehow" Morgan offered with a shrug.

Garcia groaned at the implication, "Derek…"

"Come on baby girl, work your magic" Morgan requested with a grin.

"I'll see what I can do my chocolate thunder" Garcia cheerfully offered. She was at least glad to have a new lead to work with.

* * *

The past two and a half hours had been uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable. Emily regretted profiling the man beside her, even though he had pressured her into it. But as she gazed out at the lush, and somehow still barren, Louisiana landscape she wondered if she had gone too far. Maybe she should have just ignored his behavior and not responded to it at all. What she claimed about him was person, very personal, and she had obviously hit a nerve. Emily was shaken from her thoughts by Christian clearing his throat rather loudly.

"I need to be honest with you" he admitted in a quiet voice. "About my undercover man."

"What about him?" Emily gently asked as she turned to face a nerved Christian.

Christian sighed and pulled the car over, turning in his chair to face Emily. "He's a good guy. He's good police, but…"

"But?" Emily inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Dewitt makes his guys, partake" Christian hinted before opting to clarify further. "He gets them addicted so they won't stray."

"And your guy is…"

"He's trying to stay clean" Christian adamantly replied as he scratched the back of his head. "He really can't. If he did they'd know he wasn't one of them. And on the other hand, if any other cops knew he'd lose everything. That's why I was so hesitant."

Emily shook her head in disbelief, "Why don't you pull him out?"

"They won't let me until we get something concrete on the Squire family. They're fucking disgusting. The things they do, how they operate. They need to be put away forever, but it's taking the D.A. forever to make fucking case" Christian ranted as he ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know what the fuck is going on but it's bullshit. They should have been arrested years ago, but no one wanted to try to take them down. Word is the D.A. gets serviced at one of Rhoda's establishments, if you know what I mean. That fucker will not do anything unless there is a mountain of irrefutable evidence against them because God forbid he only fuck his wife like a normal person. This case is fucking nightmare...But Mikey is a good cop. He's just going through something right now. It happens" Christian quietly confessed.

For the first time since Emily met him, Christian's cocky façade was gone and he appeared to be strangely vulnerable. She could see how the case was wearing on him, and how loyal he was to his undercover man. The D.A. would probably use any excuse, including the officer's drug abuse, to throw the case out. The level of corruption in this region made Emily want to vomit. It was hard enough to do their jobs without district attorneys making everything an uphill battle.

"I just need to know that you're not going to fuck him over. Emily, he's trying he really is. But if doesn't use they will kill him. They'll know and they'll fucking kill him."

"Okay" Emily quietly agreed to appease the nervous Lieutenant in front of her. "I won't say anything to anyone."

Christian nodded as he pulled back on to the rural Louisiana highway, "Good."

"So I'm guessing that you don't go to whore houses or strip clubs then?" Emily asked with a smirk, hoping to lighten the mood.

"No" Christian replied before a small smile crept across his face, "The girls that strip for me do it for free."

"Four minutes of being a decent human being and now you're back to being an asshole" Emily stated with a discernible grin.

"What can I say Prentiss, you really bring out the best in people" he remarked sarcastically as they continued their drive down to Mud Lake.

* * *

It was around 2pm when the team, save for Emily, gathered for a lunch meeting at the precinct. Meanwhile Emily and Christian ate lunch inside Christian's car at Mud Lake with the team on speaker phone.

"So what did you find so far?" Emily asked as Christian tried to get the last bit of his iced-tea out from the cup with his straw, earning a smack from Emily.

"What the fuck?" He complained loudly, the team hearing him on the other end of the line.

"What was that?" Garcia asked with a smile as she leaned over to JJ and whispered, "I swear she's either going to come back having murdered him or pregnant. There is no in-between with them."

"Oh just your agent abusing me" Christian answered as he turned up the air conditioning. Somehow it was even more humid near the lake.

Hotch gave a small smile before speaking up, "We know for sure that all of our victims were runaways and came from abusive homes."

JJ spoke next as she leaned forward in her chair to get closer to the phone, "And all were addicted to meth. Meth laced with ecstasy that they obtained from Dewitt Squire before they went on to work for his sister. That could be a motive…"

"Did you talk to Rhoda?" Emily questioned as she stole one of Christian's french fries.

"You should have ordered your own" he whined, prompting Emily to throw a french fry at his head.

"Children children" Garcia scolded with a grin as Morgan chuckled beside her.

Rossi shook his head amused by what was happening the other end of the phone and answered Emily's question, "Yeah she wasn't real helpful."

"The last time I spoke to her she insisted on showing me her new assets" Gates cut in with a chuckle. "She speaks highly of her plastic surgeon. She's always giving recommendations."

"Well if I ever need a boob job or ass plants I'll let her know" Emily remarked sarcastically.

"Ass plants? Are those like erotic chia pets?" Christian inquired with a grin as Emily rolled her eyes while the rest of the team chuckled in response.

"Anyway, I did find out that our victims were trying to get clean before they were killed" JJ interrupted as she took out her notes.

"And our secondary M.E. said that the autopsy report about the fingernails' removal was definitely tampered with" Morgan added as he took a sip of coffee. "We're thinking that it was more along the lines of preventing DNA evidence than as part of his sexual sadism."

Emily sighed and leaned her head against the car window, "So our thinking is that Rhoda Squire and the M.E. Leroy French were working together? That doesn't make any sense. Have their lives even ever crossed paths?"

"No" Garcia admitted as she took a deep breath. "I can't find anything. Six degrees of separation my ass. The only thing that connects them is Vermilion Parrish, but they're backgrounds are completely different. Rhoda Squire and her brother were raised by a single mother who worked as a maid. Rhoda did poorly in school and was expelled for seducing and then trying to blackmail a teacher in the tenth grade…"

"Wow" Emily replied.

"And on the other hand Leroy French was a good student and he came from a good family. His father Bobby-Lee French was the school district superintendent…"

"Maybe that's why he never got into trouble" Rossi guessed as he stroked his goatee. "We need to dig deeper through his past. He takes fingernails of dead young women. Something is not right about him, and it's probably been there for a long time."

Reid cracked his hands before he came up with a theory, "What if Rhoda is our planner and French is our killer? Maybe they found each other and she picks the women for him and he kills them?"

Morgan couldn't help but chuckle at the theory, "Reid that is somehow worse than your evil twin and eviler twin idea."

"Not to mention that Rhoda gets her power because everyone knows she had no problem killing people" Christian added as he ran his hands through his hair. "She wouldn't outsource her murdering, she thrives on it. It's fucking orgasmic for her."

Emily took a drink of water before coming up with another question, "Where are we on Dewitt's involvement?"

"Yeah he's probably not involved" JJ answered as Christian grinned smugly.

Emily scoffed at Christian's self-satisfied look, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it looked like Dewitt is probably a pedophile" JJ confessed with a sigh. "The girl I talked to first came into contact with him when she was fourteen and she said she was too old for him then."

"Fucking piece of shit" Christian mumbled as he hit his steering wheel in frustration.

"You didn't know?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Mikey just went undercover a few months ago. I guess he isn't close enough to Dewitt to know…"

"Is your man there yet?" Hotch interjected.

"No" Christian answered as he looked at his watch. "He could have got held up. I don't know."

"Should we just head back?" Emily asked hopefully. She wasn't thrilled about being at Mud Lake to begin with, and Christian Cavanagh wasn't on the top of her list of people she wanted to spend time with.

"No, maybe he can tell us something about Rhoda."

Emily bit her bottom lip as she thought about other possibilities, "What about the religious element?"

"Oh yeah!" JJ exclaimed excitedly. "Ree Kelly joined a church before she was killed."

"Remember the prayer books, the poses, and the Halo...

"Could our branding of the letter "L" stand for Leroy?" Morgan asked as he riffled through the photographs of the victim's bodies and pointed out the carvings into the skin.

Emily shook her head 'no' before speaking up, "No, that'd be too easy."

"Prentiss is right, he goes through the effort to remove the fingernails post-mortem and then leaves his initial on the bodies. Gates, have you ever noticed French with scratch marks on his body?" Hotch inquired as he turned to face the detective.

"No."

"What about you Cavanagh?"

"I don't associate with coroners. They're mentally fucked up and smell like death."

"Oh like there's a waiting list to be around your pleasant self" Emily remarked as she rolled her eyes. "Are either Rhoda or French religious?"

"Sorry gumdrop" Garcia apologized.

Christian leaned his seat back and rubbed his eyes, "So we have jack shit."

"The term you're looking for is 'jack squat' dumbass" Emily corrected with a smirk. "Do we think French is committing the murders?"

Rossi inhaled sharply as he looked around the small room.

The whiteboard was filled with theories. The case files were dog-eared and tossed about, having been read and reread dozens of times already. The coffee supply was drained, as were the profilers who were drinking it. The unbearable heat just added to the feeling of failure, further taunting them at every next impasse. There was no physical evidence. The autopsy reports were faulty, and for once the team wasn't sure what to do next. They had two possible suspects, both of which probably hadn't done it, not alone anyway. And then there was the staging of the bodies, the only thing that mattered to unsub, but there was no way that it mattered to either Rhoda Squire or Leroy French. The doubts and questions swirled in Rossi's head before he spoke up.

"No, he's not."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked as she looked over to Christian, who just shook his head to convey that he too was perplexed.

"No" Rossi admitted as he ended the call. Because at that point, what else was there to say?

**A stroke of genius leads to a break in the case in the chapter after next. Which two team members will be our team MVPs? Any predictions?**

**Additionally, more about Christian's past is revealed...**

**Thanks again for all the reviews.**


	7. Who Are You Really?

**This chapter is a little longer than previous ones, but that's mainly because it gives a lot of information about who Christian Cavanagh really is. **

The rest of the day had proved to be futile with no connections found between Rhoda and French, Dewitt and French, Rhoda and religion, or French and religion. Realizing that the team was exhausted and flustered, Hotch sent them back to the hotel early. That was except for Emily, who found herself in an unwanted situation with a certain Boston-bred lieutenant.

It was nearly 5pm when a heavy rainfall descended on Mud Lake, and an hour later when Christian decided that Mikey wasn't going to show, leaving the two in a bit of a predicament. Because of the pouring rainstorm it would probably take a good four to five hours to make it back to Abbeville in the current driving conditions. Additionally, Hotch still wanted Emily to interview Christian's undercover officer, which would require the two to make the same drive the next day. Which, in turn, only brought more bad news for Emily since Hotch instructed that she and Cavanagh stay the night near Mud Lake. Mud Lake, where there was only one motel, yes motel not hotel, with only one room available. A predicament that brought up a bit of contention between the equally stubborn will they/won't they duo.

"No" Emily firmly stated as she stood under the oning outside of the motel room, staring down the tall man in front of her.

"What?" Christian asked with his arms crossed across his chest.

"You are not sleeping in the same room with me" Emily clarified adamantly as she too crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Christian shook his head with an annoyed smile, "And where am I supposed to sleep?"

"The car."

"The car?! It's like ninety percent humidity here. I'll suffocate to death."

"And wouldn't that be a greek tragedy" Emily said sarcastically with a small smile.

"You're fucking unbelievable."

"Fine" Emily huffed. "You can sleep on the floor."

"The floor?! Look at this fucking place, I'll get fleas."

"Oh I'm sure you've had way worse parasites than fleas" Emily remarked with a smug smirk, promoting Christian to scowl. "And don't even think about trying to watch me change."

"First of all, I'm an asshole, not a pervert. There is a difference" Christian argued as he closed in on the space between them, "And second, maybe you're a bit too self-confident."

"How am I too self-confident?" Emily questioned as she moved closer to Christian, moving to within inches of his face.

"You actually assume that I want to sleep with you. For all you know you repulse me" Christian shot back with a glare.

"Oh I do, do I?"

"Maybe you do" Christian answered as he gazed into Emily's dark eyes.

"Well then you can definitely sleep in the car" Emily ordered as Christian turned to walk away before turning back to her.

"Oh fuck that" he remarked with a shake of his head as he walked back and gently used his left hand to pull Emily's face closer to his, crashing his lips against hers. Emily brought her arms to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss, their tongues fighting for dominance. The sensation memorized them until the burning in their lungs brought them back to reality and they pulled away.

"I thought I repulsed you" Emily breathlessly commented.

"I guess I lied" Christian shrugged nonchalantly. "So…" he began before Emily cut him off, pressing her lips back against his.

"Stop talking" she commanded, mumbling against the side of his mouth as he fiddled to get the door open, two crashing against the door to get inside.

Emily pinned Christian against the closed-door as she absent-mindedly dropped her phone on the floor and lifted his shirt off him, running her hands along his abs and chest as he kissed from her mouth down to her neck. His body wasn't overly muscular, but it was cut and toned. A moan escaped her as he moved to suck on her pulse point while trying to undo the buttons on her flowing white dress shirt. After quickly dropping it to the floor he made quick work of the clasp on her red lace bra as she undid his pants while they fumbled over to the bed. After crashing on the bed, and almost falling off, Christian moved down to strip Emily of her pants before she ran her hands in the hair at the back of his head, pulling his mouth back to hers. As their tongues and limbs intertwined, Christian ran his hand down from Emily's breast towards her panties, causing her breath to hitch as his fingers glided over her scar. Taking note of her suddenly tense body, Christian moved to better look at the brunette and noticed that she was looking off to the side, biting her swollen lower lip.

"Are you okay?" He softly asked as he stopped all of his movement.

"Yeah" she quietly replied. It was a big deal for her. She hadn't been intimate with someone since Doyle had stabbed her and she felt self-conscious about the rather large scar on her abdomen. Not to mention the four-leaf clover branded on her chest. "Just...you can do it" she offered awkwardly as Christian couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well your dirty talk needs a bit of work" he said with a small smile. "Emily, it's okay if you're not okay with this" he gently told her as he rolled off her body and moved to lie next to her.

"I'm sorry" she uttered, embarrassed by how she was acting. It wasn't a big deal right? It was just sex. It wasn't like she wasn't a virgin or anything. But it was a big deal for her. It was frightening to be so vulnerable in front of someone after all she had been through over the past few months.

Christian took a deep breath, "You don't have to be. It's fine. I bet this shit-hole doesn't have hot water anyway so at least I'll be taking a cold shower for a good reason" he quipped to lighten the mood as she laughed and lightly smacked him on the chest. "Well I'm going to shower. I have to be nice and clean because god forbid I offend the bedbugs."

"You are such a cry baby."

"Whilst you lie on that comfy bed tonight, just try not to remember that this place goes by the hour. Also try not to think about what said guests do here for an hour" he teased as he walked into the bathroom.

Emily cringed as his words sunk in and looked down to the tattered bedspread she was on top of, "I fucking hate this place" she mumbled to herself as she collapsed back against the pillow.

* * *

"So what do you think they're doing together right now?" Garcia asked with a giggle as her thoughts drifted to the activities of the brunette profiler and the dark blonde police lieutenant. Currently she, JJ, Reid, and Morgan were all having take out in Garcia and JJ's hotel room.

"I don't know baby girl, anything is possible with those two" Morgan offered with a shrug as he took another bite of pizza.

"The obviously have chemistry" JJ added as she took one of Reid's pieces of pepperoni off his slice of pizza, causing him to pout.

"That was mine" he complained into his soda as the rest of the group laughed at him.

"You know what we should do?!" Garcia exclaimed as JJ and Morgan shared a look. They didn't know what the idea was, but they were sure it was going to involve Emily and Christian and would probably piss Emily off.

"No Pen" JJ warned sternly as she pointed at the technical analyst, who was bouncing up and down on the bed excitedly.

"What?"

JJ shook her head before clarifying, "Whatever you plan is, it's terrible. I can feel it in my bones."

"It's not a plan grandma" Garcia argued as she nudged Morgan in the side and made a face at JJ. "I am willing to bet twenty dollars that sinfully delicious is slytherin Emster's chamber of secrets in that hotel room as we speak!"

Garcia's wager, and creative terminology, prompted Morgan and JJ to start laughing and made Reid choke on his soda. He would never be able to look at Harry Potter the same way again.

JJ moved to pat Reid on the back before she was able to compose herself enough to speak, "Wow Pen. I don't even, where do we even go from there?" She asked Morgan who just shook his head and laughed again.

"Baby girl how did you get to be so crazy?"

"It's a gift" Garcia shrugged as she winked to a blushing Reid.

"Why can't you ever just say 'have sex' like a normal person? Also, Emily would be _so_ pissed if she found out we were betting about her sex life…"

"That being said, I'll take that action" Morgan interjected. "I-I mean, the bet. I bet that Emily got some tonight" he clarified as he stumbled over his words.

JJ pinched the bridge of her nose to try to stop from laughing, "You guys cannot do that. Reid help me out here?"

"I would bet that they didn't do, umm, that tonight" Reid stuttered, earning a glare from JJ.

"Spence!"

"It's a more logical guess" he defended as he blushed again.

JJ slumped against the bed and covered her face, desperately trying to hide a grin. "If Emily ever finds out about this little bet...I promise I'll go to your funeral."

"Bring doves" Garcia requested with a smile.

* * *

Emily turned off the static ridden TV as she lied alone in the bed, while Christian was resting his head on a pillow on the floor. Growing tired of the silence, Emily decide to speak up. "So Diarmuid huh?"

"Yeah?" Christian asked, curious about why Emily was interested in his middle name.

"It's the non-anglicized version of Dermot."

"You know Irish culture?" Christian questioned as he stretched out on the floor, cracking his back and various other joints.

"Don't you know it" Emily replied firmly. "So…why do you hate federal agents?"

"You haven't earned enough tickets for that answer."

Understanding his hesitation with opening up, and not wanting to divulge her own secrets in return, Emily merely accepted Christian's reluctance to answer her. "Okay" She responded as she bit her bottom lip, "What do your tattoos mean?" Emily inquired as she thought to the various tattoos on Christian's body.

"I have four."

"And what are they?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions" Christian chuckled. "What am I a guest on The fucking View?"

Emily laughed at the question, "You should be embarrassed by the fact that you know what The View is."

Christian smiled as the insult, "Uh, okay, the first one I got was the Chinese script tattoo going down my right side. It's an Ancient Proverb that says, 'He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves; one for his enemy and one for himself.' I got it after my father died to remind me…"

"That becoming a vigilante doesn't bring you peace but destroys you" Emily finished as Christian nodded on the floor.

"The second tattoo I had done was the guardian angel on my back, and I got it before I went undercover to protect me. I don't know, I was only twenty-two. I was scared" he defended as Emily remained silent, allowing him to go on. "The tattoo on the left side of my chest with the two hands holding the heart is an Irish Claddagh tattoo. I had it done while I was undercover and it represents my mother. And the last one I had done a few months after I finished my undercover op, and it's a phoenix tattoo on my upper left bicep."

"You ever going to add to your collection?"

"No" Christian answered firmly. "It would feel like too much, you know?"

Emily yawned before replying, "Yeah. So the guardian angel tattoo is religious…"

"Symbolic" Christian interrupted.

"Fine symbolic, but the St. Christopher's medallion though? Are you super Catholic?"

Christian sighed, he knew where this conversation was heading. "I used to be a good Irish Catholic boy. I was an altar boy and everything."

"So you admit you're not good?" Emily joked with a smirk.

"Oh I'm good" he shot back smugly. "But I admit I'm not Catholic."

"I see."

"No smarmy comments? Consider me disappointed."

Emily stretched out her arms on the uncomfortable bed, "So you're an Atheist?"

"Yes."

"But your name is Christian. Christian the Atheist."

Christian chuckled at Emily's statement, "Well Agent Prentiss, life is full of irony."

"So why do you wear the medallion then?"

"It was a gift" he admitted in a soft voice.

"From?"

"My father, it was a graduation gift to send me off to college, to protect me. Again, ironic isn't it?"

A brief moment of silence passed before Emily spoke again, "What was he like?"

"He was a good guy. He was flawed...like everyone. I don't know, he meant well" Christian said awkwardly. It was plainly evident to Emily that family was a difficult subject for him.

"What was your childhood like?"

Christian rubbed his eyes and sighed, "You already know about it."

"But that's just facts. Really what was is like?"

"Uneven."

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated."

"Then explain it for me" Emily softly ordered.

"You already looked it up, what does it matter?"

"That's different. Come on, what was your mom like?"

Christian debated internally about whether he was going to legitimately answer the question or make a snarky remark. But he ended up deciding to trust Emily, and answered the question. "She was very warm, very sweet, very disarming. She was very open to the world."

"What do you mean?"

"She was wealthy and she looked at my father more than once."

Emily nodded, completely understanding what he meant. "What was their story?"

"My middle name."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh so you don't know everything then, do you?" Christian teased.

"Shut up" Emily scolded playfully.

"It's Irish mythology. You know Tristan and Isolde?"

"Yeah."

"Well before them there was The Legend of Diarmuid and Grianne. Grianne was the most beautiful woman in Ireland. She was daughter of Cormac mac Airt, the High King of Ireland. She was courted by everyone in the country but was betrothed to this great warrior Fionn MacCool. However, at their engagement feast after she laid her eyes upon Diarmuid, one of Fionn's warriors, she fell in love with him. She fucking roofied the entire party but him so they could escape together. He was apprehensive at first so she cast a spell on him to fall in love with her. They ran off and eloped and she got pregnant all while Fionn and his men chased after them. But one day, in the wilderness, Diarmuid and a pregnant Grianne were trapped between Fionn's men and a wild boar. Diarmuid was gravely injured protecting his wife. She begged Fionn to save Diarmuid, but when he finally agreed it was too late and Diarmuid died. Legend has it that you can see the beds they made together throughout the hidden Irish Countryside." He took a deep breath and chuckled, "My mother would tell me that story every night and I didn't understand what it meant until after she died…"

Emily smiled at the realization, "That is was your mother and father's story…"

"My mother was studying at Vassar and when she went into the city one weekend she met this guy. He was handsome, rich, studied at Princeton. He was an investment banker, politically inclined. He was perfect. My grandfather wanted her to marry him and she was engaged to him for a short while. But one day, on summer break, she went to my grandparent's country club back home in Boston and met my father. He was a fucking janitor, you know? He wasn't like anyone she'd ever met before. He was different from everyone else in her world. He was nervous about dating her, so she had to convince him."

"She did?"

"She did" He confirmed with a small laugh, "She ended her engagement for him and my grandfather was fucking furious. He cut her off financially and my parents eloped. After my mom became pregnant with me, my grandfather agreed to support her and pay for all prenatal care. I don't think they had insurance or anything. But he made it clear that he would not support my father. My mother turned him down and it caused problems in their marriage."

"Your father blamed himself for everything" Emily surmised as she rubbed her tired eyes. She was exhausted, but was entranced by Christian's story.

"He became depressed I guess, started developing a serious drinking problem and she couldn't fix it. He said she tried, but he wouldn't or couldn't change. And she left him. They got divorced before I was born and my mother was welcomed back home with open arms. The prodigal child that returned." Christian inhaled sharply as he continued to study the imperfect ceiling above him, counting the different paint strokes and grooves in the drywall. "My grandparents supported us. They bought our house Brookline, paid for a nanny, sent me to the best pre-schools and private schools. Every summer and weekend we would vacation at the family's Martha's Vineyard beach house. My father never really came around. But after my mom died he wanted this last piece of her, my grandparents also wanted to raise me though. They wanted to change my last name to theirs and everything, but legally I went to my father. My father wouldn't give up his parental rights so I moved to Southie with him. I was young but I knew the difference, I didn't understand. I had never been poor before…"

"It was a big change."

"Yeah" Christian admitted as he scratched his jaw, "Fuck. I didn't even know who he was. He was a good father. He was good to me. He didn't quit drinking, but how could you considering? He tried to raise my right. He didn't remarry or get some new family or anything, that was nice. One day, when I was about twelve some kids were teasing me about my middle name….let me tell you Southie kids can be real pricks."

"I think kids in general can be real pricks" Emily remarked.

Christian cleared his throat before elaborating further. He had never had shared personal details about his life before. Never. "He told me that my mom wanted to name me Diarmuid because she always wanted me to remember their love story. Maybe she always knew it was going to end tragically" Christian admitted as he closed his eyes.

"Do you ever talk to them?"

"My grandparents?"

"Yeah" Emily confirmed as she pulled the faded covers over her body.

"No. I don't want anything to do with them. When my father died they offered to pay for the funeral...I didn't want anything from them. I don't want to ever feel like owe them anything. They're shitty people. They ruined my parent's lives."

"I'm sorry" Emily quietly apologized, realizing that Christian was getting upset.

Christian shrugged in response to the kind words, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance."

"George Bernard Shaw" Emily smiled.

"Great Irishman" he stated firmly as he hit the stained carpeting underneath him to further stress his point. "Anyway, you were right about me earlier. Fucking profiler" Christian uttered with an uncomfortable laugh. "When I moved from Brookline I was so different. I didn't talk like everyone else. I didn't dress like everyone else. I dressed like goddamn Dr. Reid" he confessed as Emily laughed trying to picture the image. "I was weaker than everyone else, more fragile…"

"You changed who you were to survive" Emily interjected as Christian sighed.

"Boo hoo right?" Christian bitterly commented.

Silence briefly filled the room before Emily spoke again, "So who are you really?"

"I don't know" Christian admitted in a sad voice. "I guess this."

"Well for the record, I like this version of you better than the asshole one" Emily informed him as she smirked up at the ceiling.

"I'm good at being an asshole."

"Well I won't argue with you there" Emily laughed as she turned off the lamp sitting on the bedside table and turned on to her side to drift off to sleep.

**So Emily and Christian haven't slept together yet, but I felt like this was a better way for Emily to get to know the real Christian Cavanagh. **

**The next chapter contains more case work and more signature Prentiss snark. It also features a big break on the case courtesy of a certain profiler... **

**How do you feel about Cavanagh as a possible partner for Emily? And what do you think will happen with his undercover officer?**

**As always, reviews are always appreciated. **


	8. The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse

******Congrats to the reader Sera, who picked up on a little hint about Christian's past.**

**Thanks again for all of the reviews. **

**Also, I'm doing a (sort of) contest. The fiftieth reviewer gets to pick the pairing for my upcoming Grey's Anatomy/CM not-quite-a-crossover story. The choices are either an ****Emily/Jackson Avery pairing or an ****Emily/Addison pairing. I'm rooting for Addison personally. **

Emily awoke the next morning to discover that half of her body and limbs were draped over another body in the hotel bed. As her senses returned to her she noticed who the shirtless body belonged to. It was the back tattoo that gave him away.

"What the fuck?" She yelled as she smacked Christian on the shoulder.

"Huh?" He asked sleepily.

Emily scowled at the man beside her, "Weren't you on the floor?"

"My back was hurting" Christian defended with a smirk as Emily pushed him off the bed, causing him to fall on the floor "Fuck" he groaned as he rubbed his lower back, "For the record, you cuddled with me."

"Whatever" Emily replied as she rolled her eyes. She had actually cuddled with Christian Cavanagh. What was the world coming to?

"What are you doing? Are you trying to cripple me?"

Emily scoffed at his complaint, "It's not like you do anything other than sit on your ass in your office."

"If I remember correctly you seemed to like my ass last night" he shot back as he got off the floor and faced Emily. She blushed as she got off the bed and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I'll cherish this moment forever" Christian yelled through the door with a grin as he went to check his phone for any messages from his undercover officer.

* * *

Back at the police precinct, the team was waiting for anything from Garcia about Leroy French. Hotch had decided that they would leave investigating the Squire family to Emily and Christian, focusing solely on the increasingly suspicious medical examiner.

"I can't find anything" Garcia admitted in a disappointed voice as she looked over to the team, who were all collectively hovering over her.

JJ took a deep breath before getting an idea, "Okay how old is French?"

"Fifty-two" Reid answered.

"He doesn't have any children or nephews that fit the profile, but what about an old friend? Maybe someone he lost contact with, but that he shares a history with. Maybe they got into some trouble together. Let's say that French wasn't the perfect student. Maybe he was problematic…"

"But there is nothing in his records" Reid reminded as JJ grinned.

"Nothing in his permanent records, but that doesn't mean that the behavioral problems didn't exist."

Rossi smiled at JJ's train of thought, "His father was the district superintendent. I would bet that he could ensure that nothing unsavory would be in his son's records."

"We need to get into contact with his teachers from school, see what they know" Hotch instructed Garcia, who began typing with a new sense of purpose.

"If he was a budding psychopath he would have behavioral problems throughout his life, but it would be especially noticeable by the time he was in high school" Morgan added as Garcia nodded in reply.

"He attended Abbeville high school, but the principal is now deceased" Garcia groaned.

Morgan rubbed his head before getting an idea, "Baby girl do you see a shift in his attendance or grades between any of the years he attended?"

"After his sophomore year Leroy French had hardly any absences, and any that he did have were excused. His grades also improved from B/C to A/B. It was the first time that he made the school honor role."

"We need to know what prompted that shift. His trigger would have been in his sophomore year. Garcia print out his school schedule for his sophomore year, we need all of his teacher's names. Rossi and Morgan take the first four teachers. Gates and I will take the second half and Reid and JJ take the school principal's next of kin" Hotch ordered as Garcia pulled up the names on her computer screen.

"Okay my darlings here's the thing, most of the teachers are dead, but I have three names for you. Rossi and my baby boy will be visiting Gloria Fulton and Lindsay Albright. Bossman and our local detective will be headed to visit Dent Williams, who lives in a Lafayette nursing home" Garcia informed the group as they dispersed. "Boy wonder and buttercup, you are headed out to visit principal Red Graves' only child Betty Sue Lemieux."

JJ and Reid nodded in response as they gathered their things to head out the address Garcia had sent to their phones. They needed something that could connect French to someone that fit the profile. They just hoped that it existed.

* * *

After showering and picking up coffee, Christian and Emily pulled up the Mud Lake rendezvous point.

"You're a terrible driver" Emily stated in a manner of fact tone.

Christian scoffed at the remark, "I'm an amazing driver. You're just overly critical, and blind."

"Sure" Emily replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "And you're a pessimist."

"I'm a realist" Christian corrected with an eye roll of his own.

"You know who says that?"

"Who?"

"Pessimists."

Christian laughed at the statement turned to face her, "So are you going to tell me?" he asked as he turned off the car.

"What?"

"You know what" Christian replied pointedly.

Emily gazed out the window, knowing what he was hinting about. "You haven't earned enough tickets for that answer yet."

"That's my line" Christian complained.

"It sounds better coming from me" Emily replied with a small smile.

Christian shook his head at the remark, "Really, are you going to tell me?"

"It's personal."

"It always is" Christian remarked with a sigh. "Did I do something that made you uncomfortable?" He asked in a nervous tone. The question brought a touch of relief to Emily, it was as if he didn't even notice her scar. Or he did and didn't care.

"No, it's not that. It's just complicated" she offered as she focused on footprints in the fresh mud. "You said something yesterday that's been bothering me" Emily remarked in a somewhat distracted voice.

"I say a lot of things that bother you" Christian replied in a playful tone.

Emily pulled her focus away from the mud and turned to face Christian, "You were talking about your uncover officer's drug addiction and you said it happens. It's like you knew from first hand experience. Did you?"

Christian took a deep breath before answering, "I wasn't trying to get high. I was having panic attacks" he confessed as he stared out the front windshield.

Emily knew there was more to that story, but decided not to push on. "It wasn't meth was it?"

"Oxycontin" Christian admitted.

"Your phoenix tattoo" Emily uttered softly as Christian nodded in reply. "How long has it been?"

"Seven years" he said in a matter of fact tone as he turned to face Emily. "Did you see the…"

"Footprints" Emily nodded as she pointed to the footprints near her side of the car.

Christian scratched his jaw as he opened the car and stepped out with Emily following close behind. The two followed the footprints approximately twenty-five feet before they stumbled upon a large tree that a dead body was resting against. It was the body of a thin brown-haired man who looked to be in his early twenties. He looked somewhat unwashed and had a scruffy beard. His torn white t-shirt was tainted with blood that pooled near his abdomen, the humidity not allowing it to dry. His brown eyes were still open, looking as if he was staring into their souls.

"Fuck!" Christian shouted as he interlocked his hands together at the back of his head. "SHIT!" he screamed again as he turned away from the body and clenched his jaw. It didn't take a profiler to figure out that the dead body was his undercover officer.

Emily walked closer to Christian, "Is it?"

"Yeah" he replied in a voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah it's, it's Mikey" he confirmed again as he walked back to the car and opened his trunk to take out a box of gloves. After closing the trunk he noticed a large insect fly on to the car's bumper. Enraged he stomped on it against the bumper, stomping the car bumper over and over again until denting it.

"Stop" Emily firmly ordered as she gently placed her hands on his shoulder blades to stop his erratic movements.

"This is fucking Rhoda!" he exclaimed as Emily gently rubbed his back try to calm him down. "She leaves their eyes open" he admitted as his voice cracked while he braced his hands on the trunk and leaned over the car, trying to control his uneven breathing. "He told me, he told me that they were watching him…I thought the drugs were making him paranoid" Christian admitted as he cleared his throat.

"Hey, this isn't your fault" Emily gently reminded him.

"I'm okay" he told her as he turned around to face her, his eyes tinted red. Emily could plainly see it, the guilt. "I need to check something" he informed her as he put a pair of blue gloves on and walked towards the body. When he reached the body he inhaled sharply and reached into Mikey Delahunt's front pocket, taking out a small receipt. "You son of a bitch" he smiled as he read the receipt.

"What?" Emily asked as she approached Christian, who walked back to her after squatting next to the body, unraveling a small white piece of paper as he drew closer to her.

"I told him to always buy something from the store closest to whatever meth den he was staying in before we'd meet...just in case. It's from a gas station…"

"It narrows down the area and gas stations typically have security cameras" Emily finished as she took out her phone to call Hotch."Hotch, Cavanagh's undercover guy was murdered. Yeah he said he's sure it was Rhoda. I don't know if it's connected, it looked like the officer was stabbed in the abdomen not strangled. We need a CSU team down here. Okay thanks" she finished as she concluded the call.

Christian scanned the empty area before refocusing on Emily, "We're going to get her this time. I have to get her."

"I know."

"You need to get back to your case don't you?"

"Yeah" Emily admitted with a nod. "I'm sorry…"

Christian shrugged, "It is what it is right? I'll have a squad car take you back to Abbeville."

Emily pinned a strand of hair behind her ear, "In the meantime" she began before calling up Garcia, putting the technical analyst on speakerphone. "PG we need your help."

"Whatever do you need my Gumdrop?"

"If I give you an address can you bring up a satellite picture of the area?" Emily asked as she looked over to Christian, ensuring that he was doing okay.

"You bet I can do that. What are we looking for?"

"A large compound" Christian spoke up. "There would have to room for multiple vehicles. There would probably be a guest house or garage. It would have to be rural."

"I think I found something, I'm sending the coordinates to your phone as we speak sinfully delicious."

"Thanks. I have to make a call" Christian replied as he took out his phone and walked off.

Emily watched over him protectively as she took her phone off speakerphone, "Thanks Garcia."

"Are you two okay?"

"His undercover guy was murdered. He thinks that it was Rhoda Squire."

"Do you think he was her?"

Emily bit her bottom lip and contemplated the question, "For this I'm sure. But I think the key to our unsub is French. I'm going to interview Janice Dupree on my way back."

"Well, I'll keep you posted on our M.E." Garcia assured the brunette before continuing on, "So no snarky comebacks, is sinfully delicious all right?"

"I don't know" Emily admitted as he observed the man scolding a subordinate over the phone.

Garcia took a sip of tea before replying, "And you're just leaving him by himself?"

"He's a big boy."

Garcia smiled at the phrase, "And how do we know that gumdrop?"

"And I'm hanging up now" Emily sternly said, ending the call as she heard Garcia protest on the other end of the line.

There was no way in hell that Emily was going to admit to anyone that she almost slept with Christian Cavanagh the night before. And she sure wasn't going to admit that she actually wanted to try it again. _What is wrong with me if I'm actually attracted to him? Sure he's classically good-looking. Fine, he's hot like JJ said, but his personality is atrocious. Well maybe there is another side to him, but he is still a snarky egotistical jackass. Maybe I do need more therapy _Emily internally ranted as she walked over to Christian's car and leaned against trunk.

* * *

JJ once again knocked on the traditional white house that belonged to Betty Sue Lemieux, looking over to Reid who shrugged. There was a car in driveway, and it appeared that someone was home. "Mrs. Lemieux?" JJ yelled over the door as it was jerked open.

"I am so sorry, I was in the shower" an overweight blonde woman offered in a southern drawl.

"Mrs. Lemieux I'm SSA Jareau and this is Dr. Reid, we're from the FBI's Behavioral Analyst Unit. We're here to talk to you about your father Red Graves" JJ informed her as she flashed her credentials.

Betty Sue brushed out her frizzy hair with her hands as she spoke, "I'm sorry hun, but daddy's been gone for nearly eight years now."

"We're aware of that Mrs. Lemieux, but we need to know about a certain student he would have encountered while he was Abbeville High School's principal" Reid clarified.

"Well come in and I'll see if I can remember" Betty Sue offered as she motioned for the agents to follow her inside. "Who're you asking about?" She inquired as she sat down on the sofa.

JJ sat across from the other woman on a pony patterned chair, "It would have been about thirty-five years ago. Leroy French?"

Betty Sue took a deep breath and rubbed her temples as she tried to remember the name. "I'm sorry ma'am but I don't recall any Leroy French, but daddy kept these journals. He always thought he was gonna write a book someday. I couldn't throw them away, they're in my attic if you don't mind going up to get them" she offered as both she and JJ turned to Reid.

"Me?"

"Well my behind ain't gonna fit up there" Betty Sue quipped as she stood up while JJ gave the genius a pointed look.

"Fine" he grumbled as he followed Betty Sue into a side hallway as she pulled down a ladder.

"It's labeled 'The Life of Daddy Graves'" she informed him as he climbed the stairs into the attic and noticed a large box with the label.

JJ couldn't help but laugh when she heard Reid squeal, "You okay Spence?"

"There are spiders up here" he complained as he stepped down the stairs with the large box.

JJ turned to offer a smile to the other woman, "Thank you so much Mrs. Lemieux. I promise that we will get these back to you as soon as he reads through them."

"That'll be a while though" Betty Sue remarked as she looked at the pile of journals.

"Yeah, it'll take about eight hours" Reid sighed as he walked off with the box, leaving Betty Sue dumbfounded.

"Speed reader" JJ shrugged as she shook Betty Sue's hand and followed Reid out of the door.

* * *

It had taken a few hours before a squad car had arrived to pick up Emily to drive her back to Abbeville. She felt strangely guilty about leaving Christian behind, but they both had jobs to do. Christian thought he might have a break in his case against Rhoda and Dewitt Squire, and JJ and Reid had called to tell Emily that they were sifting through the writings of Red Graves. It was around 3pm when Emily arrived at Janice Dupree's well maintained trailer. Emily was relieved that the inside of the home was pristine and air-conditioned when she followed Dupree inside.

"So this is about Jamie-Lynn then?" The tall redheaded woman asked Emily skeptically. "Why'd you wait almost ten years?"

Emily nodded, acknowledging the other woman's concerns. "Well ma'am, I'm from the FBI's Behavior Analyst Unit and we were just called in a few days ago to help with the case. We want to find whoever did this to your friend" Emily informed her firmly.

"I think you took so long because of what Jamie-Lynn was" Dupree suggested with a glare.

"I can assure you that is not it. But Ms. Dupree we need your help. I know you were questioned before and that it has been a long time, but do you remember anything different about Jamie-Lynn's behavior before you filed the missing person's report on her?"

"No."

Emily sighed quietly before she got an idea, "Was she trying to get clean?"

Janice Dupree's face lit up at the question, "She was!"

"Do you remember where she was going? Was there a clinic?"

"No clinic Miss. She said she found Jesus" Dupree informed Emily as the pieces came together in her head. The prayer book, the poses, the halo, but most of all the brand.

Emily leaned forward towards Janice Dupree, "What church was she attending?"

Dupree rubbed her face as she tried to remember the name, "It was, it was…this revival…"

"Was it a traveling revival?" Emily asked intently.

"Yeah, it was…Light of Christ. That was it" Janice Dupree finished as Emily wrote the name down. "Is that a help?"

"You might have just helped us solve the case Ms. Dupree" Emily said confidently as she rose from the small sofa and bid Dupree goodbye, heading to the squad car that was waiting for her. She immediately took out her cellphone and dialed Hotch.

"Hotch, Jamie-Lynn Dupree had also gone to a church to get clean. It's a traveling revival, Light of the Christ. How much do you want to bet that the route they follow is the exact pattern the bodies were dumped in? That's why the victims are always killed early Monday morning, it's done after the religious service. I know, but I have something else. The branding on the victim's chest, it's not an 'L.' The Hebrew symbol for the number four looks like a capital 'L' upside down. I think the victims were branded with the number four because of the fourth horseman of the apocalypse, death. That's his identity..."

**So our team MVPs this time were JJ and Emily, and the Squires were our red herrings. **

**How does Leroy French connect to the traveling church revival? Who is the fourth horseman of the apocalypse?**

**Will Christian finally be able to shut down the Squires? **


	9. The Good Reverend

**The team cracks the case while JJ and Garcia try to crack Emily. **

**This is a somewhat short chapter, but I did it on purpose.**

**Reader Lena-F you are the fiftieth reviewer, which pairing would you like to see for my next not-really-a-crossover with Grey's Anatomy? Jackson Avery/Emily or Addison Montgomery/Emily? Let me know. **

The entire team watched on as Reid flipped furiously though the pages of the of the various journals before finding a relevant entry dating April 6, 1975. "I think I have something…" he spoke up as the team moved closer to him. "Leroy French was never written about as being problematic, he wasn't written about at all until April 6, 1975."

"What happened on April 6, 1975?" Morgan asked as Emily poured herself a cup of coffee. Garcia had been trying to track down any members of the Light of Christ revival to no avail. It seemed like no one connected to Leroy French, yet anyway.

Reid re-scanned the page before answering, reading the journal aloud for the team. "'Landy Babineaux ran away late last night, he still hasn't returned. This isn't like him. I worry about Leroy French and Earl Chiasson. They were always so inseparable, but they told me they're sure that Landry is fine. Maybe they're right, maybe he did secretly hate his daddy like they said.' Do you think…"

Reid was cut off by Garcia, "Did you say Earl Chiasson?"

"Yeah?"

"He's the reverend who runs the revival!" Garcia answered frantically as she looked over to Hotch and Rossi.

"Garcia does Chiasson have any children?" Rossi asked as Garcia started typing.

"He had two daughters and a son, William "Billy" Chiasson. His wife and daughters were killed in a drunk driving accident a few months after he started The Light of Christ revival in 1995. Billy was arrested once for indecent exposure when he was fifteen, the charges were dropped…"

"How old is he?" Hotch asked as Emily and JJ moved closer to the computer genius.

"He was born in 1983 and on employment records it says that he is a mechanic for his father's revival. Oh my god, he owns a trailer."

"Garcia where is this revival now?"

"I don't know, I don't know" she admitted in defeat as she looked over to Morgan.

"Okay, get a phone number for Reverend Chiasson. I want to call him tomorrow morning and I was his son arrested" Hotch ordered.

"He doesn't have a phone listed…"

The room audibly groaned at Garcia's response, like everything else about this case finding the Chiassons was going to be difficult.

Emily took a deep breath before she spoke up and tried to piece everything together, "Okay so thirty-seven years ago Earl Chiasson and Leroy French kill their friend Landry Babineaux for some reason that is still unknown…"

"They tell everyone he ran away from home" JJ added as she took a sip of coffee. "They make up some lie that he hated his dad…"

Morgan rubbed his head before he added his thoughts to the theory the team was forming, "They know the area. They can easily hide the body."

"It was probably an accident, they killed him in fit of rage" Reid interjected as he began erasing and writing on the conference room white board. "It changed their behavior. Earl turned to religion, French to science."

"But his son is a sexual sadist with sociopathic tendencies. His son finds out about what his father did…" Hotch began before Rossi interrupted.

"Maybe he even confessed to his son about his mistake. Perhaps he tried to show Billy that he too could change, but Billy sees it as an opportunity to get away with murder and his's father confession only feeds into his compulsion."

"What is a better way to get away with murder than blackmailing a medical examiner into cleaning up all the forensics for you?" JJ questioned rhetorically.

Emily shook her head before uttering her next words, "Billy Chiasson sees himself as an agent of God, the fourth horseman. He thinks it is his job to cleanse the world, former prostitutes and drug addicts fit the bill. He brands the girls and forces them to ingest the prayer books, but he does not clothe them or lay them out. He doesn't try to erase their defilements so they can be clean before God. In his mind they are not worthy of it, he wouldn't try to give them any dignity when he disposed of their bodies. Which means that he doesn't dump the bodies at all…"

"His father does" Hotch concluded as the rest of the team nodded in agreement. "Let's try to get some rest tonight. If he keeps his pattern we have two days to find him before his next kill. I want everyone here by 6am tomorrow" Hotch instructed as he walked off to find Detective Gates.

"When we get to the hotel we need to talk" JJ told Emily as Garcia clapped her hands with a smile. Emily groaned, knowing exactly what the conversation was going to revolve around.

* * *

Emily was eating Chinese take-out on her and JJ's bed as the interrogation began. The room was still stuffy and warm, but the rainfall had helped cool it down, well marginally anyway. Emily had missed the company of her friends, but she would be lying if she didn't admit that she didn't want to see Christian. However, what drew her to Christian Cavanagh was what would have deterred many other woman, and it didn't have anything to do with his rough around the edges personality. It had to do with the fact that he lived over 1200 miles away. Emily felt that the distance between the two would be a good thing, it would keep him far enough away from her so she could deal with the aftermath of Doyle on her own. She didn't want him completely involved her life. She needed space. Was it possibly a bit selfish? Maybe, but it wasn't like Emily was in the right place emotionally for a relationship. Right?

"So you and sinfully delicious alone in a hotel room together. Dish" Garcia requested with a wink as she bounced around on her bed, hoping that she would be twenty dollars richer after this conversation.

"Nothing" Emily replied with shrug.

"WHAT?!" Garcia shrieked as she threw a pillow across the room. "Woman are you blind?!"

Emily couldn't help but laugh at the outburst, "Nothing really. He's a self-centered jerk" Emily lied. She knew that wasn't really who Christian Cavanagh was, it was just the image he projected.

"Come on Em you know he's more than that" JJ argued as she bit into an egg roll.

"He's like twelve years old" Emily replied back with chuckle. "I'm too old for him. He's younger than Reid!"

JJ scoffed at the argument, "Okay first of all you are not too old for him. We can tell he's totally into you" JJ lifted her hand to stop any arguments. "We've seen the way he looks at you. He does not look at us like that."

Emily waved the statement off like it was the most absurd thing she had ever heard, "He probably knows you have a boyfriend Jayje."

"How? How would he know" JJ asked with her hands on her hips. "Is he a mind reader or something? Because he never flirted with me to even give me a chance to tell him about Will. So there."

"Yeah" Garcia agreed with a nod of her head. "We can all see he looks at you, even Reid" she added with a wink.

"Oh really?" Emily asked in a snarky tone with an eyebrow raised. "And how is that?"

"Like he wants to jump your bones" Garcia filled in as Emily choked on a sip of water. It was an accurate assessment, and Emily was completely aware of the fact that Christian was sexually attracted to her. The kissing and heavy petting that occurred the night before was a pretty good indicator of his interest.

"Sure" Emily replied sarcastically.

"And second, he is only a month younger than Reid and we both know that he is not as innocent as Reid" JJ shot back. "So what gives?"

"Nothing gives, I'm just not interested in him."

"Are you trying to convince us or yourself?" Garcia perceptively questioned before pushing her glasses further up her nose.

JJ smiled at Garcia before turning back to Emily, "I am going to give you a piece of advice that a very smart and occasionally idiotic woman once told me when I met a guy in Louisiana. You should go after him."

Emily laughed at the advice, "I think I'd rather go get some coffee. You want anything?"

"405 Gertrude Street apartment 6B if you're interested" Garcia informed Emily with a wide grin.

"Bye Garcia" Emily said as she shook her head and left the room.

"She is totally going there" Garcia told JJ who nodded in reply.

JJ went to the room's bathroom to brush her teeth and returned to sit on her bed, flipping through a magazine before she addressed her quirky friend. "You know you still owe Reid $20 because I don't think they did anything last night."

"Fine" Garcia pouted as she shuffled off to the shower.

**Thanks again for all the reviews. I always enjoy reading them.**

**I may end up posting the second companion chapter today… **

**Should today be a double update day?**


	10. The First Time

**If you don't feel comfortable reading "mature" scenes I would suggest skipping everything in this chapter EXCEPT the very last paragraph, which contains an important set-up.**

**You don't really miss much case-wise. **

After parking the black SUV, Emily walked up to a two-story apartment complex next to a trailer park. She spent the entire drive, and walk up the stairwell, debating whether or not she should knock at the door. "Fuck it" she mumbled as she knocked on the door, quickly regretting it. _Where did all this self-doubt suddenly come from?_

Without checking to see who it was first, Christian swung the door open and was pleasantly surprised to see Emily. However, he was thoroughly embarrassed by the fact he had opened the door in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. Well, that and the black eye he was sporting. "Emily."

"What happened to your eye?" Emily asked in a concerned voice as she moved forward to gently brush her fingers against the already dark bruise.

Christian pointed to the injury before answering, "This was courtesy of Rhoda fucking Squire. The lady, and I use the term loosely with that one, really packs a punch. I guess I just got too used to sitting on my ass all day."

"Hey, I've grown quite fond of your ass" Emily quipped, prompting Christian to smile as she made her way into his empty apartment. As she scanned the apartment she noticed that it was exceptionally empty and impersonal. There were a few boxes of books on the floor and a small brown sofa that was facing a large flat-screen TV hanging on the wall. The place was clean, but not really decorated. If she didn't already know that he'd been there for two years, Emily would have assumed that Christian had just moved in.

"So this is how you can afford the BMW" Emily stated with a smirk.

"Yeah, well as you can see, I don't spend my paycheck on home furnishings" Christian shrugged as he walked into the kitchen. "You want something to drink? I have beer, water, and a peach Snapple that's probably from '92."

"I'm fine" Emily said, waving him off. She could tell something was bothering him, he wasn't his normally snarky self. "How was the rest of your day?"

Christian grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against his kitchen sink, directly across from Emily who was leaning on the opposite counter.

"How was my day?" he repeated as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I would say that being decked by Rhoda was probably the highlight."

"Care to elaborate?"

Christian inhaled sharply as he ran his hands through his hair, "Not really...I got them, well Mikey did technically, the receipt did it. Dewitt, the fucking moron, was captured on a surveillance tape at the gas station with Mikey before he was killed. It was enough for a warrant, which led us to raid the meth shit hole they were living it, where we found the knife used to disembowel Mikey" Christian almost choked over the last few words. "It was cleaned off but those dumb fucks didn't know about trace DNA evidence. It was all over the sinks. Dewitt rolled on his piece of shit sister for a guarantee that he could escape the death penalty. They're done, it's over" he informed her as he took another drink of water.

Emily tilted her head before speaking up, "But you're not happy."

Christian sighed before he responded to the statement, "I'll have to do it all over again. I have to put another guy undercover and I just can't help but feel like this case was such a fucking failure."

"I'm sorry if I…"

Christian stopped Emily before she could apologize any further, "Mikey had been talking about being watched for weeks now. It wasn't you" he replied adamantly. "You find what you were looking for today with Dupree?"

"Yeah, we did" Emily responded as she ran her hands through her hair. "I think we have a real concrete suspect."

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed before Christian spoke again, "Don't get me wrong, It's good to see you, but why are you here?"

"Honestly?"

"No lyingly" Christian replied sarcastically.

"Asshole" Emily playfully scolded. "I don't know why I came."

"I was going to see you today, but I thought you'd be upset. Fuck, I can't get you out of my head. You're fucking parasitic."

"You give the worst compliments I've ever heard."

Christian moved closer to Emily and planted his hands on the counter on either side of her, leaning over her. "And you're still here…"

"I can't do this" Emily firmly replied as she picked at her nails and bit her lower lip.

"Then why did you come over at 8 o'clock at night, to my apartment…"

"What are you implying?" Emily questioned in a curt tone.

Christian shook his head and smiled at the question, "You know I don't play games. Call me an asshole and a cocky piece of shit all you want, fuck maybe you'd be right. But I don't play games. I'm the guy who's honest. I'm the guy who's going to admit that, yes, last night I wanted to fuck you because I find you attractive and can tolerate your presence" Emily scoffed at the blunt statement before he continued. "I'm not going to make out with you one night and the next try to pretend that I don't like you. You know that. So when you come over to my house, alone, at night...I think we both know exactly what you want" he remarked with a pointed look.

Emily rolled her eyes, "It's more complicated than that."

"You make things complicated…why'd you come here then?"

Emily shook her head in response, "I don't know."

"Don't pull that shit. Tell me what you want" Christian ordered in a soft voice.

In response Emily snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss as he lifted her on to the kitchen counter. There were no words necessary to convey why she was there, and Emily wasn't going to bother explaining. She was there quite simply because she didn't want to be anywhere else.

As their mouths moved together and tongues collided, Christian slipped his hands under the hem of Emily's shirt and smiled against her mouth as he felt the muscles twitch under his touch. He quickly removed the red short-sleeved t-shirt and ran his hands through her hair as she breathlessly spoke up, "Bedroom?"

"We're already here" he argued, lightly nibbling on the skin near her clavicle as his hands slowly moved up her sides, prompting her to shiver from his gentle caresses.

"I am not having sex with you on your kitchen counter" she sternly informed him over a moan as she felt his erection press against her pelvis.

Christian responded by guiding her into the small hallway towards his bedroom, their bodies and mouths never losing contact as they collided into the hallway walls. En route to his bedroom, Christian unbuttoned her black jeans, with Emily stepping out of them as they made their way into the dark room which was slightly illuminated by the moonlight that crept through the curtains.

He guided her down to the bed as she unclasped her bra. Christian moved to hover over his body over hers before briefly stopping himself, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" she honestly replied as she gasped for air in anticipation for what he was going to do next. Christian merely nodded as he nibbled on her earlobe and proceeded to suck on her pulse point before rolling his fingers gently over her pert nipples, eliciting a moan from her. It had been a long time since she had been touched like this. Christian would never admit it, but it had been a while since he had been with anyone sexually either.

"Fuck" he mumbled against her neck as she wrapped her legs around him and ground her lower body against his. "I don't…" he tried to get out over a small grunt. "I don't have anything" he confessed as he hung his head and stopped kneading her right breast.

"It's fine, I'm on the pill" Emily quickly replied.

"You're clean right?" Christian asked with an evil grin, teasing her.

"Yeah" she answered with a glare.

"Sorry, I don't want to get herpes" he responded with a grin as she lightly smacked him on the side of his head. "That was strangely erotic" he quipped as her hand gravitated teasingly towards his groin, causing him to growl in pleasure.

Emily smirked before whispering in his ear, "Christian, shut up before I change my mind."

He nodded against her chest as he moved to kiss the soft skin above her breast, gingerly running the pad of his thumb over the four-leaf clover brand on her chest. It was a profound gesture, and one that surprisingly put Emily at ease. No questions were asked or explanations given about the mark as he proceeded to lightly suck on her nipple before speaking up again, "If you change your mind again I'll cry."

Emily couldn't help but laugh at the confession as Christian continued to kiss down her body, gently tracing his tongue down her abdomen and lightly kissing her scar before dipping his tongue into her naval. Her breath hitched at the action as Christian moved to suck on her hipbone before removing her panties and slowly kissing and nibbling his way to her most intimate place.

"Oh my god" she moaned as the arousal spread throughout her body. She arched her back as Christian's hands roamed back to her breasts. The simultaneous action caused her loudly moan again as she neared climaxing. "Christian" she gasped as her hands found their way into his hair, guiding him to the perfect spot he had found a few minutes earlier, causing her to orgasm just a few moments later. It was as if all the pent-up sexual energy from the past few days, no months, had finally been released.

Christian grinned as he kissed back up to her body and moved to suck on her tongue, her hands running up and down his back as her nails dug into his shoulders to pull him closer. "What are you waiting for?" She breathlessly asked as she wrapped her legs around him again. "Fuck" he groaned as she lightly kissed the skin behind his ear. He responded by flipping them over so Emily was on top. As her senses returned to her she stripped off his boxers and lowered herself on to his erect member, earning a guttural moan from him. The two moved in perfect harmony as moans of pleasure and random outbursts of cursing filled the small apartment.

His lips continued to explore Emily's neck while she clutched the white bed sheets near his head, wrinkling them in her hands. Emily adjusted herself on Christian's body as his shaft perfectly hit a certain spot deep inside her, prompting her to cry out in ecstasy again as another orgasm racked her body.

"You're fucking amazing" he grunted as her internal walls clenched over him. The intense sensation made Christian feel like there was only so long that he could hold out for. As the minutes passed he finally spoke up.

"I'm going to" he tried to choke out over a moan when she bit his earlobe, "Emily..."

Emily gasped as she felt another orgasm building, "I'm almost..." she breathlessly informed him as he shifted them to a sitting up position, his movements directly hitting her g-spot as her breaths became impossibly more ragged.

"Fuck Emily" he groaned as she ran her tongue along the edge of his jaw line.

"I'm going…" she informed him in a broken sentence.

"Again?"

"Mhmmm" she confessed as she clawed at his back, completely relishing the closeness of their two bodies together.

"Are you…sure?"

"Yes" she told him firmly as she climaxed, bringing him over the edge with her.

"FUCK!" He yelled out as she dug her fingernails into his shoulder, pain marrying with pleasure all at once as Emily's body collapsed against his as they fell back against the bed. Christian finally removed himself from her after the waves of pleasure subsided.

"Wow" Emily remarked a few minutes later as she tried to control her breathing and moved slightly off of his body, resting her head against his chest.

"You're not helping with my ego problem" Christian replied back with a chuckle.

Emily took a deep breath and laughed when she exhaled, "Maybe you've earned it"

"Fuck that was amazing, your body is…" he drifted off as he tried to get his wits about him.

"Sweaty" Emily filled in with a smirk before she took another deep breath and turned to face him, "Really, that was incredible."

"Yeah" he agreed as he gently ran his thumb over her cheekbone. "I took a class" he joked.

"If it was with Rhoda Squire I'll swear to God I'll kill you" she chuckled as she looked at the clock by his bedside table. She had already been there for an hour and a half and she knew she was going to hear about it from JJ and Garcia. "I have to go" she quietly told him as she absent-mindedly ran her fingers over the tattoo on his chest, outlining the heart in between the two hands.

"Why?"

"You know why. Everyone will know…"

"So" he interrupted in a dejected tone. "I know you think I'm a dick but are you that embarrassed of me?"

"You know that's not it. I'm not ashamed, I promise. It's just, all of my friends are either profilers with no boundaries or the nosiest person on the planet. Not to mention that this is kind of unprofessional. I'm working, I shouldn't be here doing this with you. I just want to keep our sex life between us. Okay?" Emily explained as she sighed and got off the bed to start gathering her various clothing items off the floor. Was it the most ideal situation? No. Would she rather have stayed over with Christian? Definitely. But life wasn't always ideal.

"It's fine, I get it" Christian nodded in reply before scratching at his mussed hair and flashing a cocky grin. "So there's an us?"

"Don't push your luck" Emily warned playfully as she began to get redressed. "Where are my pants?"

Christian shrugged as Emily went in search for her other missing items of clothing. "I would have never pegged you for the fuck and run type" He teased as he got off the bed, putting on a white undershirt and a heather grey pair of knit boxers before walking to the kitchen to take something out of the fridge. "Here" he offered as he placed a case of beer on the counter while Emily slipped on her pants.

"What is that for?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised as she put her shirt back on and tried to brush our her hair with her fingers.

"Your excuse for running late. You went out to get beer" he stated as he slid the case closer to her. She took it and held it up appreciatively before walking to the door.

That was the awkward part. What is an appropriate goodbye for a 'fuck and run?' Handshake? Kiss? Hug? High-five?

Emily was shaken from her internal ramblings as Christian stepped up to her, moving his hands to her waist as he pressed his lips against hers, giving her an unhurried goodbye kiss before she pulled away.

"I'm sorry but if there's tongue I'll never leave" she admitted as she blushed.

Christian leaned against the doorway and laughed in response to the admission. "Emily…"

"Yeah?" She asked as she stopped before getting to the stairs, turning to face Christian.

"Uh, just…be careful" he awkwardly said, hoping that she understood the subtext of the comment.

She merely nodded in reply, offering him a small smile before descending the stairs.

* * *

Emily tiptoed into the quiet hotel room with her case of beer as Garcia flicked the light switch on, revealing that she and JJ had been sitting on their respective beds watching the door intently.

"Hey guys" Emily greeted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "I got us some beer."

"Is that where you've been?" JJ asked with an eyebrow raised. "For two hours?"

"I drove around for a while, had a coffee, went to the store, it was a long line" Emily shrugged as she put the beer on a small table and walked to her go bag.

"Okay" Garcia agreed as she winked at JJ.

A wave of relief washed over Emily as she took out her toiletries bag and searched for a set of clean clothes to sleep in.

"Hey Pen, I really like Emily's style nowadays. What would you call it?" JJ asked Garcia. _  
_

"Oh, I think they call it the just been fucked look" Garcia replied with a giggle as Emily turned around to glare at the laughing duo.

Emily rolled her eyes at JJ and Garcia's laughing forms, "Whatever."

"So how was it?" Garcia asked as she leaned forward on her elbows. "He looks like he'd be good…"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Emily claimed as she walked to the bathroom to shower.

"Tell us or we'll tell Morgan" JJ ordered as Emily stopped dead in her tracks.

Emily groaned at the very real threat, "Fine. It was fine" she confessed in a diplomatic tone as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

JJ scoffed at the description of the duo's earlier activities before addressing Garcia, "Anyone with eyes can see that it was _way _better than just 'fine.'"

"We're lucky she had mind-blowing sex though" Garcia commented to JJ, who climbed under the covers of her bed.

"Why?"

"Because otherwise she would have killed us already" Garcia stated as JJ laughed again.

* * *

Chinatown, New York City

"Forgive me father for I have sinned, it has been six years since my last confession."

A few moments of silence passed before the elderly Priest spoke up, "Go on my son, what is bothering you? What sins have you committed?"

"I was betrayed Father. He turned his back on me. He took what was rightfully mine and I want him to pay for it."

"The Christ tells us 'For it is written, Vengeance is mine: I will repay, saith the lord.' You must trust in the lord to vindicate his servants. You must pray for your..."

"My brother" The man interjected. "I have a deep hatred from my brother."

"The scriptures tell us that 'Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him…'"

"Don't I know it" the man concluded, cracking his fingers before he left the confession.

"I have yet to absolve you of your sins" the man faintly heard behind him as he briefly stopped to stare at the line of prayer candles.

"We bury our sins, we don't wash them clean" he muttered as he put on his baseball cap and walked out of the church, fading anonymously into the crowded street.

**The case comes to a close in the next chapter. **

**They did the deed…but is that a good thing? What does Emily do about Christian when she has to go home?**

**Who is the man in Chinatown? **


	11. Finding The Fourth Horseman

**The team has found out who their unsub is…now can they catch him?**

**Thanks again for all of the reviews and the comments, it really helps keep me motivated with updating regularly (daily).**

**This chapter is fairly long, mostly because it helps tie up a few loose ends before the FIRST case comes to a close. **

The team met early the next morning and immediately broke off on their various assignments. The task of the day was simple, find Billy Chiasson. However, going about doing that was proving challenging. The Light of Christ revival was between sermons, and as result it was an arduous task to pinpoint exactly where the Chiasson family was. Then there was Leroy French. Because of his unique skill set all the physical evidence against Billy Chiasson was eradicated, which upped the ante on the interrogation. However, the team did have one distinct bargaining chip. The disappearance, and likely murder, of Landry Babineaux.

Rossi sipped his coffee as the team discussed various plans to get a confession out of the three suspects, "I say we do a domino confession."

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked the older man curiously.

"We start with a small lie to tip the first confession, to get them all rolling" he informed the team as Reid nodded as took out a yellow legal pad. "First, we plant the seed of doubt with French, then we start with Billy Chiasson. He's delusional, he thinks that he is God's prophet. He won't want to die, to be taken from the earth he was tasked with cleansing. We begin with him. We offer him life in return for his testimony about how French killed Babineaux. We threaten him with the death penalty, tell him that Leroy French will talk…maybe we found the fingernails" Rossi shrugged.

Morgan tilted his head as he added to plan, "We tell him that French did a rush testing on them. They matched his DNA."

"We use Chiasson to get French for the Babineaux murder, and then we use French to get both of the Chiassons."

"And how can we be sure that Earl Chiasson will talk about posing the bodies?" JJ asked skeptically. They was a lot of moving parts to this intricate plan. Everyone would have to play each part perfectly for it to work, and even then there was a high probability that it wouldn't.

Emily ran her hands through her hair as she spoke up to answer JJ's question, "The need to confess. We exploit that to get to Earl Chiasson."

Hotch furrowed his brow and nodded. It was far from an ideal strategy, but it was all they had to work with. The problem was that they had three killers on their hands, and no physical evidence to convict them. "Reid filter through missing persons reports and the dump sites to find the route the revival took across southern Louisiana. We need to know where the Chiassons are headed to next. Morgan filter through Leroy French's home with the State Police. It's highly unlikely, but maybe French kept the fingernails as insurance against Chiasson…"

"Hotch, how the fuck are we going to get a warrant with no way to connect French to the disappearance of Babineaux or the Vermillion Parrish killings?" Morgan interrupted. It was a fair question. They didn't have any legal reason to search French's home, and it wasn't like he was going to welcome them in without a warrant.

"I have an idea…we just may need just need a few more dominoes" Emily said cryptically as she took out her phone and walked out of the small conference room to make a phone call.

* * *

Christian was sitting at his desk in his medium-sized office at the State Police Lafayette headquarters when his phone rang. Comically, the office was more decorated than his home, with his Notre Dame degree and poster of the Boston skyline at night adoring the wall. On his desk was a framed picture of his mother and a baseball signed by David Oritz. A silver Newton's Cradle also rested near the edge of his dark oak desk. Christian picked his phone and recognized the number, a small smile creeping across his face as he answered it. "Emily?"

"Hey, I need a favor" Emily began as she leaned against the wall outside of the Abbeville precinct conference room.

Christian smirked, "What kind of favor?"

"How would you feel about pissing off a certain D.A.?"

"You know I just love to piss people off" Christian replied, making Emily laugh. "Hey what are you doing tonight? Because I have a suggestion…"

Emily rolled her eyes and interrupted him immediately, "I'm working."

"You're no fun" he complained as he scratched his jawline and huffed, "Fine, what do you need?"

"I need a warrant to search Leroy French's house. Can you put pressure on the D.A. to find a sympathetic judge that will grant us one based off a completely insane theory that is absolutely right?" Emily asked with a lopsided grin.

Christian scratched the hair near his temple in confusion, "French? Slimy medical examiner?"

"Yeah."

"He's tampering with evidence and fucking you over at every turn…"

"Yeah" Emily admitted as Christian picked up on the obvious stress in her voice.

"I'll help you. Selfishly, because the only person I want fucking you is me" he informed her with smirk as she groaned audibly on the other end, which made him laugh.

"Stop being an asshole and call me when you having something" Emily ordered as she hung up the phone and walked back into the conference room, leaving Christian to do some wheeling and dealing of his own.

"We're waiting" Emily informed the team as she back down at the conference room table, tapping anxiously on her phone.

Hotch focused on her and nodded, "Hopefully whatever you have works. Reid, keep working on pinpointing the revival. Garcia see if you can find any members of the Light of Christ that can fill us in on their patterns. Other than that, all we can do is wait" Hotch admitted as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

In an ideal world the Light of Christ revival would have some sort of main office or building, but that wasn't the case. It would also greatly aid the team if there was some sort of online registrar that listed everyone who was a part of the church, but that also didn't exist. As a result it would take Garcia a while to sift through different business filings to find someone who was connected to the church. It was the waiting that was the hardest part for the team.

It made them feel completely useless.

* * *

An hour and a half after Emily called him, Christian walked through the conference room door. Surprisingly, he wasn't wearing his usual casual clothes. Instead he was wearing a navy blue suit with lighter medium-width blue pinstripes, a baby blue shirt with white pinstripes and a contrasting white-collar, and a blue, lavender, and light grey paisley tie. Emily also noticed that Christian was wearing a pair of light brown suspenders that matched his leather shoes. She had to admit that he looked dashing, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"I want you to say it for me once" Emily requested as Christian tilted his head in confusion, the team watching their interaction.

"What?"

"Greed is good" Emily chuckled as Christian shook his head and tried to hide a smile. Emily laughed again at his response, "You know, because you're dressed like Gordon Gekko."

"Fuck you" he playfully scolded before speaking up again, "And if you're going to quote from a movie at least get the quote right. I can't believe that this is the thanks I get for bringing this" he complained as he took a paper out of his back pocket, handing it to Hotch.

"How'd you manage this?" Hotch asked he handed the warrant to Morgan, who nodded to Christian and rushed out of the room to gather a team of local officers to pick up French and take him to the precinct.

Christian went over to the table and stole Emily's coffee, earning him a glare from the brunette. "I can be very persuasive" he answered as he winked at Emily. "Lawrence Hicks, our District Attorney, is a dumb fuck who can't keep his dick in his pants. I told him that if he didn't pull some strings with his judge pals for me I'd cut Rhoda Squire a deal if she ratted on his kinks. Oh, and then I would leak it it to the press before his next election" he shrugged as JJ spit out of sip of her coffee.

"You said what?!"

"The secret to success is to offend the greatest number of people" he smugly replied as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Do you know any other quotes besides George Bernard Shaw?"

"That's all they teach at Notre Dame, Shaw and binge drinking" He shot back with a small smile. "Now that I've thoroughly saved your ass Prentiss I'll be going" he remarked as he walked towards the door.

"Well gee, thanks for the favor" Emily replied in sarcastically tone.

Christian turned around to face Emily, leaning against the doorframe. "No thanks necessary, it is a great ass" he stated with a cocky grin as he walked away, leaving her blushing as Garcia, JJ, Rossi, Hotch, and even Reid turned to stare at her.

"Whatever it is, don't even think about saying it" she warned Garcia with a glare as the technical analyst gulped and want back to typing furiously on her computer.

* * *

It had taken almost two hours, a lot longer than it would typically take her, but Garcia had finally found someone who connected to the Light of Christ revival. The man's name was Richie Thibault and he used to be a member of the church, traveling with the revival as a mechanic before Billy Chiasson took over the job. While Rossi and Hotch were interrogating French, JJ and Emily drove into town to interview Thibault.

About fifteen minutes after leaving the precinct Emily and JJ pulled up to Richie Thibault's white trailer. The yard was well-kept and the homey trailer had a small porch area with a swing. Emily stepped up to the red vinyl door and knocked lightly, causing a man to immediately come to the door. He looked to be in his early fifties and was wearing a pair of jeans with a blue flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His greying black hair was pulled into a ponytail and he had a well-groomed mustache.

"Richard Thibault?" Emily asked as the man nodded. "I'm Supervisory Special Agent Prentiss and this is SSA Jareau, we're from the FBI's Behavioral Analyst Unit and we wanted to ask you a few questions about your time with the Light of Christ revival."

"Yeah, I was with the revival from early '95 until 2004" Thibault answered in a thick Southern drawl as he stoked his mustache and leaned against the frame of the door. "What is this all about? Is Earl is some sort of trouble?"

"Actually we wanted to talk to you about his son, Billy Chiasson" JJ clarified.

Thibault shook his head before answering, "That is why I left the light of Christ. That boy of his…"

"What do you mean?" Emily inquired as she moved closer to better hear the man.

"That boy of Earl's, he couldn't control him. He thought of himself like he was the lord himself, always trying to boss me around. I was supposed to be teaching him, and then I find out that a family complained."

"Complained about what?"

"It was when Billy was about ten, he was peeping on the girls' tent at one of the camp sites" Thibault informed the two women as he rubbed the back of his neck. "As he got older he started calling himself an 'Agent of the Lord.' I told Earl that he needed to control his boy, ain't nothing wrong with a few beatings miss. Sometimes a child needs a little leather discipline."

"How did Reverend Chiasson react when you talked to him about his son's behavioral problems?" JJ questioned as Emily wiped the sweat from her hairline. How people could live in humidity like this was beyond her.

Thibault chuckled at the question, "He didn't like it. He told me that Billy was a good boy, that he was trying to get his head together with the lord's help, and that I should not question that. But that boy bothered me, I didn't want to be around him anymore. Earl ignored everything his boy did and I couldn't take it, I left in 2004. Now I'm a part of a different church, Grace of God's Love. It's a good little place."

Emily nodded, completely assured by the interview that Earl Chiasson was indeed helping his son dispose of the body. "Did the Light of Christ always follow the same path through southern part of the state?"

"Yeah."

"Where would they be camped about now?" JJ interjected as Thibault thought rubbed his face to try to remember.

"Hmm, 'bout this time of year Billy and Earl like to camp out in the marsh near Wax Lake Pass. Lots of small finger lakes come off there, Billy was always interested in the different animals."

"I bet he was" Emily replied cryptically. That was one of the first marks of a serial killer, torturing animals. Emily shook Thibault's hand as the two agents prepared to leave, "You've been very helpful. Thank you" she offered sincerely as she headed back towards the SVU with JJ. After climbing into the SVU, JJ called Hotch to let him know that they had a possible location on the Chiasson family.

* * *

Detective Gates watched attentively through the one way glass as Rossi entered into the stuffy interrogation room, sitting across the table from Leroy French.

"We're going to find them French" Rossi informed the frail man in front of him.

French looked around the room before refocusing on the profiler in front of him, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me ask you Leroy, did you enjoy the killing or the cleaning up more? Or is that what got you off, seeing all those dead bodies day after day. You knew that you could only kill and get away with it once, but you could see dead bodies every single day…"

"I don't know what you're getting at" French responded as he shifted nervously in his chair.

"Oh I think you know exactly what I'm getting at. What is it about the dead that you find so arousing? Was it their smell that intoxicated you?" Rossi inquired in an accusatory voice as Hotch walked through the door.

Hotch completely ignored French's presence and addressed Rossi, "We're done with him. Morgan found them."

French scoffed at the statement as Rossi smacked the table and pointed to the man, "Was he talking to you?!"

"There is no evidence…"

"Was he talking to you?!"

"There was no fingernails!"

French was right, Morgan and the rest of the State Police unit had found no physical evidence at French's home. But they weren't going to let him know that. Rossi was sure that he had the man right where he wanted him. Before going into the interrogation Rossi had established that French had authority issues, stemming from his relationship with his domineering father. Rossi knew that if he and Hotch could push him far enough, French might slip up, trying to prove how there was no way he could be caught. He needed them to know that there was no way he made a mistake.

"Then how did we find a box of them in your house? Just couldn't part with them could you? Couldn't get hard without them could you?" Rossi smugly asked as he turned to Hotch, "What do they call a fingernail fetish anyway?"

"Sick" Hotch shrugged as he kept his eyes only on Rossi, still not acknowledging the presence of French.

"There ain't no evidence at my house and I know it, because I didn't do it. But I do want my lawyer" French stated as he crossed his hands on the metal table, signally that he was done taking.

They were close, but not close enough. They didn't have him. He wasn't playing with them.

Rossi got up from the chair and walked towards the door before turning back to French. "We both know how volatile Billy Chiasson can be, and when we have him in cuffs threatening to send him chair he is going to talk and the first words out his mouth will be, 'Leroy French helped me after I found out that him and Daddy killed Landry Babineaux!'" Rossi yelled before leaving the room to find Detective Gates waiting for him and Hotch in hallway.

"Now what? He gets his attorney?" Gates asked in an irate voice as he crossed his arms in front of his chest aggressively and scowled.

"It's his right" Hotch diplomatically stated.

"He's going to go free!"

Rossi stepped towards the man before cutting into the conversation, "There are a lot of moving parts to this investigation. You cannot get hung up on one."

Hotch's phone rang, breaking into the tension as he walked off to answer it before walking briskly walking back to the two men. "Prentiss and JJ have a possibly location. Gates what do you know about Wax Lake Pass?"

"Not much" Gates admitted with a shrug. "It's over an hour east of here. Nothing but fucking swamps and gators."

"Who knows the location?"

Gates took a deep breath before answering, "There is an officer that had a protected informant in the area a year back. He set up a trailer out there for 'em while they waited on a trial. Must know the area pretty well considering."

"Who?"

"Lieutenant Cavanagh" Gates answered as Hotch glanced over to Rossi.

* * *

Emily and JJ walked into the police precinct to find Morgan, Rossi, Reid, Garcia, Hotch, and Christian all waiting for them.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked Christian quietly, scanning his body which was donning a Kevlar vest that read 'POLICE.'

"Helping you" Christian merely replied as he walked over to the front of the room to address the small group of State Police officers.

Hotch had just given the profile, and stressed that no one was to shoot Billy Chiasson. They needed him alive to be able to arrest his partners, his father and Leroy French.

"As some of you already know, Wax Lake Pass is very shitty, very wet terrain. Agent Hotchner has informed me that when confronted, Billy Chiasson will run and when he does he will try to draw you into the marsh. The marsh has gators and the small lakes that come off the ocean have sharks, so stay the fuck out of them if you can. We believe that Chiasson is camped out in the open grass plains, but those vacant plains are surrounded by trees and other thick shrubbery where he can hide. Be careful of the area and don't run off after him on your own. He knows this region like no one else and he will try to use it against you, do not let him" Christian finished as the team strapped on their Kevlar vests in preparation.

The sun was starting to set as the team traveled to Wax Lake Pass. Ideally they would have liked to wait until the next morning to try to make an arrest, having sunlight in an unfamiliar area was always a plus. But the team didn't have time to wait, it was already Saturday night. Emily pulled her hair into a ponytail as she gazed out of the car window.

Much like the rest of the case so far, this arrest was going to have many moving parts to it. First, the area the team had to search, in the dark, was several hundred acres. Second, the area was divided by small finger lakes which were breeding grounds for bull sharks, meaning that each team was trapped without backup, which brought up the third issue. Hotch feared that too many officers in the area would spook Chiasson, so the team was working with a skeleton crew of State Police. There would be no room for mistakes.

But a mistake had already been made.

It wasn't a mistake made in the field, but one that had been made much earlier.

A mistake that had been made back at the precinct.

**The case wraps up with a bang, literally. ****Any predictions?**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	12. A Gunshot in the Quiet Night

**Some of you wrote in the reviews that you were worried that I would kill off Christian. I wouldn't do that…or would I?**

**Remember, Christian Cavanagh is from Boston so...if you're from Boston you get what I mean. ****If you're not, I will warn you that there is a LOT of strong language in this chapter.**

**Thanks again to everyone for reviewing. I really appreciate them and if you haven't left a review yet please do. **

Night had fallen by the time that the team had finally reached Wax Lake Pass. As if it wasn't dark enough, the trees surrounding the open land just added to the lack of visibility, blocking out any moonlight that threatened to illuminate the marsh. The team filtered out of the SVU and joined the small group of State Police troopers, hoping to find the camp site of the revival. As the team spread out, Emily found herself a few paces behind Detective Gates as the mic in her ear uttered various updates from the different team members. No one had found anything with no sign of the Chiasson campsite.

However, about fifteen minutes after walking off the Louisiana country road, JJ and Morgan found the campsite of the Chiasson family, noticing two vehicles that were located in the middle of a large patch of open grass. One vehicle was a small white and red RV with a small white trailer, which was holding various stage pieces for the revival, hitched on the back. The other vehicle was an old rusted royal blue Ford truck with a silver travel trailer attached to its hitch.

"I think this is it" JJ whispered to Morgan, who nodded in reply. "Which one should we clear first?"

Morgan scanned the campsite before answering, "The only lights on are in the RV."

JJ and Morgan shared a concerned look as they approached the vehicles.

Morgan stepped forward first as he knocked loudly on the RV's front door, "Earl Chiasson, William Chiasson, this is the FBI open up." The rickety door was opened to reveal a middle-aged overweight balding man with a full red beard. "Earl Chiasson?"'

"Reverend" the man corrected, licking his lips as he glanced over to JJ. "What is this about?"

"Where is your son?" Morgan asked, deciding against elaborating on why they were there at the moment.

Earl Chiasson gave a small smile before replying, "Not here. He's out taking a walk."

"Will us allow us to check the property?" JJ asked, trying to remain polite as she noticed the color of the RV's carpeting. It was the same copper color as the fibers found underneath the victim's toenails. This was where the eighteen, probably more, victims had been tortured and killed.

"I don't know what you're looking for…"

"Yes you do" Morgan growled as he stared down the man in front of him. Morgan could see it in his eyes, Earl Chiasson knew exactly why they were there.

JJ took a deep breath before cutting into the tense silence, "Is this your RV or does it belong to your son?"

"It's Billy's" Earl Chiasson confirmed as Morgan glanced over to JJ. They didn't have an arrest warrant for Earl Chiasson, yet, but they did have one for Billy.

"Move aside sir" Morgan sternly ordered as he entered into the small RV while JJ relayed the information over the team's communication mics.

They had found Billy's RV but Billy was no where in sight.

"JJ come see this" Morgan insisted as he pulled a medium-sized wooden box out from under the Billy's bed. The pine box was adored with a carved wooded cross that had been super glued on the lid. The Hebrew symbol for the number four was also marked on the bottom of the box in black sharpie. Inside the box were a few new prayer books, a hunting knife, and a stretched out black tie. But most disturbing was the smaller plastic pencil box inside that contained the victims' blood-matted hair.

JJ gulped at the sight, "His souvenirs."

"Did the M.E. report say anything about missing hair?"

"What do you think?" JJ asked rhetorically as she stood up to glare at Earl Chiasson, who was standing with a few State Police officers. "He knew all along and he let it happen."

Morgan sighed as he turned to face the blonde, "JJ he didn't just know about it, he helped."

"He can't get away with this Morgan…"

"Earl or Billy?" Morgan asked with a sigh as he stared at the sagging mattress in front of him, the mattress that had witnessed so many horrors over the years.

JJ took a deep breath before answering, "both."

* * *

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Meanwhile, Emily was a few paces southwest of Detective Gates, trudging through the damp ground as she felt a few strands of hair sticking to the back of her neck. _How people could camp out in this weather?_

"We have Earl Chiasson, no sign of Billy" JJ remarked over the mics, a remark that captured the attention of a nearby Billy who was hiding in the trees near the water's edge.

And that is when Detective Gates heard rustling in the nearby trees.

Gates flicked his flashlight up to briefly glance at the tall burly man with untamed brown hair, knowing instantly that he was without a doubt Billy Chiasson. Billy Chiasson looked to weight about two hundred and twenty-five pounds and was around 6'1" feet tall, with facial features that were too small for his large face and haunting sunken grey eyes. Just the sight of the man enraged Gates, it made him sick. What he had done, what he was planning to do.

Immediately after the light hit him, Billy Chiasson took off running further into the overgrown shrubbery, Gates running right behind him. The shuffling and branches breaking under their feet captured the attention of a nearby Emily.

"Gates?!" She yelled as she drew her gun and ran after the two men. "Gates in pursuit of unsub, heading Northeast" Emily stated through the mics with labored breaths as she picked up her pace, sprinting after the two men who were cutting through the various trees and bushes, slipping in the the slick mud as they did so.

Hearing Emily's breathless communication over the mics promoted Christian to run into the same direction with his gun also drawn, the flashlight only providing limited visibility in front of him. Christian used his knowledge of the area to cut through a small river way, cutting off Hotch and Rossi as he drew closer to Emily, Gates, and Chiasson. The shrubbery cut at his skin and tore into his clothes as he ran haphazardly through it, water audibly squishing in his leather boots with every stride as he desperately tried to catch up with the other men and Emily in front of him. The pace was grueling, minutes felt like days and feet felt like they were miles. As his lungs burned he noticed what looked to be the outline of Emily's lithe body crashing through the shrubbery in front of him.

"Slow the fuck down!" He ordered to the men as he trailed Emily, who was a few meters behind Gates and Chiasson.

"This is the FBI, stop!" Emily shouted before almost tripping on a boulder that was covered in moss. She heard rustling in the bushes beside her, but didn't bother to check what it was. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that they found Chiasson, that they caught him, that they were able to get a confession out of him. Even if JJ and Morgan had found physical evidence to arrest him, the evidence against French and Earl Chiasson was non-existent and they needed a miracle to convict the other two men. They needed Chiasson to testify. They needed him alive.

In spite of Emily's warning, Chiasson kept his pace up as Gates chased him towards an open field near the mouth of the Atchafalaya River. Realizing he was trapped, Billy Chiasson turned around to face Gates, who was standing around twenty-five feet away from him. Chiasson lifted his hands in surrender as the moonlight illuminated his evil grin, the cloudy water sparkling behind him, reflecting the light of the stars above.

"You can't arrest me, you have nothing" Billy Chiasson taunted in a thick southern drawl.

"Why'd you do it?" Gates growled as he observed the eerily calm man in the front of him.

"Why does anyone do anything?" Chiasson chuckled with a smirk. "Because they can."

Since he was running through the marsh when the communication from Morgan and JJ came through, Gates was under the impression that there was no evidence against Chiasson. He knew that the entire case rested on confessions, but he didn't trust the plan. He didn't trust the profile. He had seen the little good it had done during the first interrogation. The team's "profiling" had gotten them nowhere, why would it work this time? Billy Chiasson wasn't going to confess to anything, and that is when Gates made his decision. Chiasson couldn't just get away with it. It wasn't fair. It wasn't just. Billy Chiasson had to pay for what he did, for what who he hurt. The FBI unit was just going to leave Vermillion Parrish after this case, forget what had happened and head back home to Quantico. They had the luxury of forgetting the horrors that would forever taint the region, forever taint religion, forever taint him. All Gates wanted to do was to be able to walk away and not care, but he couldn't. He was too invested. How could he tell his wife that he let this man go? That this monster roamed free because he had failed. That the nightmare would never end. That _she _would never get justice.

As the thoughts raced through his mind, Gates lifted his gun and shot Chiasson in the head just before Emily reached the two, the gunshot echoing in the otherwise silent night.

Chiasson's dead body dropped to the ground just Emily reached the men. After hearing the gunshot she immediately scanned the dark open field, quickly noticing the dead body. She jogged over to Chiasson's body and checked his nonexistent pulse as the mud at the back of his head changed to a crimson tint.

"What did you do?!" She asked in a very uncharacteristic frantic tone as Christian, Rossi, and Hotch ran up to the scene.

"He was reaching into his pants, I thought he had a gun" Gates lied.

"Chiasson apprehended, suspect dead" Hotch yelled into the mics, glaring at Gates who just walked back into the direction of the county road in a half-conscious state as he internally justified his actions.

Christian crossed his arms and shook his head, clenching his jaw as he did. He briefly closed his eyes and looked back to Emily. No words were needed to convey what the other was thinking.

They were fucked.

* * *

The Abbeville police precinct was silent as the team walked through the bullpen, having just left the hospital. Billy Chiasson had been killed by Gates instantaneously, which further complicated the case. Trading a life in prison sentence over the death penalty was the only bargaining chip the team had. It was the only way to get Billy to aid in convicting French for evidence tampering and the murder of Landry Babineaux. Additionally, the team was hoping that French would then turn on Earl for a deal. It was a chain reaction that rested solely on each piece falling perfectly into place, but the team was missing a vital piece.

After giving his statement Gates sat quietly at his desk in the bullpen, watching as the agents filtered in with Christian close behind them.

Emily glared at the man as she walked by, which didn't sit well Gates. "You got something to say miss?" He asked in a condescending tone.

"Prentiss" Hotch warned as Emily walked up to the man.

"Yeah I have something to say" Emily coldly stated before she continued on, "You just singlehandedly derailed this entire investigation, your work..."

"He was going to shoot!"

"He wasn't armed!" Emily shot back as she crossed her arms in front of her body.

"You were too late. Maybe if you had done your fucking job..." Gates shot back as Christian glared at him. Christian knew exactly what Gates had done. He didn't need to shoot Chiasson, and he sure as hell didn't have any right to blame his poor judgment on Emily. It didn't sit right with him.

"You fucked up this arrest not her you dumb fuck!"

"I will fuck you Cavanagh!" Gates yelled, pointing aggressively at Christian as he got up to face him.

"Well la-di-fucking-da I hope you don't mean literally because I'd have fucking nightmares about it for fucking weeks" he replied as Gates gave him the middle finger. "You know what shit bag? I'm going to personally go to your superiors and you won't be able to work as a fucking security guard for Toys R Us when I'm done with you. Learn how to your do your fucking job without pulling your gun you motherfucking pussy! You're gun isn't your dick you premature asshole..."

"You're going to believe that fucking stupid bitch fed?!" Gates incredulously as he pointed over to Emily who just rolled her eyes. Like she gave a shit about what Alonzo Gates thought about her.

"What the fuck did you call her prick?"

"I said that the fed you're fucking is a stupid bitch. What the fuck you going to do about it Cavanagh?" Gates taunted as he pushed Christian, who responded by punching Gates in the jaw, causing the older man to fall back against his desk.

"That's what I'm going to do about it cocksucker" Christian shot back as Morgan pulled him back.

"Fuck you!" Gates growled he lunged forward before a few State Police detectives took him outside, hoping to ensure that the fight didn't escalate any further.

"Blow me" Christian shrugged and flexed his hand as he turned to face Hotch, "Unless you need me here I'll guess I'll head home."

"Go" Hotch ordered as he furrowed his brow and tried to hide a small smile. Most of the team walked back into the conference room to try to come up with a new plan, but Emily waited behind to talk to Christian.

"What was that?"

Christian closed his eyes momentarily before gazing back at Emily, "What?"

"I don't need you to defend me" She huffed.

Christian scoffed at her reaction. "This is not about you Emily. This is about the fact that he just fucking executed a guy and expects to hide behind the badge. And the fuck up just ruined our chances at convicting the dirty M.E. and Reverend shit-stain" Christian replied before lowering his voice, "I know you can defend yourself but I can assure you that I have been wanting to beat the shit out of that self-righteous asshole for two years now and it had nothing to do with what he called you. As far as I'm concerned Alonzo Gates can go fuck himself."

Emily raised an eyebrow at the statement, "Oh really?"

"Well, maybe I wasn't thrilled about him calling you a bitch" he admitted with a small smile as he glanced over the quiet bullpen, "What are you going to do now?"

Emily sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Without Billy they weren't going to get French or Earl Chiasson for either the murder of Landry Babineaux or as accessories to Billy's murders. "I don't know" Emily admitted as she followed the team into the conference room, noticing a somber look on Garcia's face.

"Gates' niece, his wife's sister's daughter, Colette Harris went missing a few months back. It looks like she fit the profile, I didn't make the connection…" She admitted sadly before Hotch stopped her.

"This only falls on Gates" Hotch reminded her as the team looked to him for direction.

Morgan patted Garcia's shoulders in a comforting manner before speaking up, "Yeah baby girl, there was no way you could have known that Gates was going to shoot Billy Chiasson."

Rossi sighed as he rubbed his eyes, "It makes sense though. That's why he was so invested in the case, why he insisted that we came down. It's why he was so hesitant about sending us the missing person's reports until we after came down to Abbeville. It's why we was so upset after the first interrogation with French. I can't believe that I didn't see it myself."

"What now Hotch?" Reid asked as all the eyes focused on the unit chief.

Hotch crossed his arms and took a deep breath before answering, "We have Billy Chiasson for the Vermillion Parrish murders, Morgan and JJ found enough physical evidence in his trailer to close that case. That being said, we relied on making a deal with Chiasson to turn on French…"

"Morgan said Baton Rogue's M.E. stated that the reports weren't accurate, is that enough to convict French for evidence tampering?" JJ asked hopefully as Hotch shook his head in a defeated manner.

"There is no way to prove that the reports were faulty on purpose without Chiasson's testimony. Any defense attorney could argue that it was an error, there is no way to prove otherwise. Without Billy Chiasson we have no leverage against French to encourage him to testify that Earl Chiasson was disposing of the bodies for his son. A physiological profile won't be enough to convict him. As for the Babineaux murder" Hotch took a deep breath before continuing, "We were counting on the D.A. making a deal with Earl Chiasson so he would admit to the murder and testify against French. The profile seems to indicate that Chiasson isn't a killer, but rather a cleaner, we were going to use that to our advantage."

"Maybe we still can" Emily offered as Hotch contemplated her idea.

Rossi smiled as he also picked up on her line of thinking, "I think we need to interrogate our good Reverend."

**Who ends up interrogating Chiasson?**

**The case ****concludes in the next chapter as Emily returns to D.C.**

**Thanks once again for all the reviews and predictions. It's always fun to read reviews and how different readers pick up on the little hints I leave. **


	13. You Owe It To Yourself To Try

**The case comes to a close as Emily debates what to do about the new person in her life.**

**Just as a heads up, I'm not going to post anymore warnings for upcoming chapters because I think it's pretty much established by now that there will be strong language, sexual content, and crime/violence in this work. I hope that's okay with everyone.**

**By the way, how did I not know that Jennifer Love Hewitt joined the cast? What a fucking ****disaster...****my apologies to any JLH fans. CBS should have hired Mireille Enos or Amy Ryan, or paid Paget Brewster a billion dollars to come back. **

"Are you sure about this?" Emily asked before she entered into the interrogation room.

Hotch took a deep breath and nodded, "We need to throw him off. A strong alpha female is our best bet in there. His son probably inherited his issues with women from his father, capitalize on that. Prentiss, remember if we don't get a confession it's not a failure. What we are going to try is a long shot, don't blame yourself if you can't get him to talk."

Emily nodded as she opened the door and walked in, taking a seat across from Earl Chiasson. "Mr. Chiasson" she greeted coldly.

"Reverend" the man corrected as Emily smirked.

"Yeah, well, I don't know many people who want to get their spiritual advice from a man who raised a serial killer."

"Alleged" Earl Chiasson corrected again.

Emily scoffed at the term, "Alleged? Okay we'll ignore the plethora, that means a lot in big girl words, of evidence and go with that. But back to my original question, how are your parishioners going to feel about getting their religious advice from a man who raised an _alleged _serial killer?" Emily asked in a taunting tone.

"God is the father of all, even those who do evil" Earl Chiasson replied as Emily laughed.

"Wow, now I see where your son gets his inflated ego from, I meant got his inflated ego from" Emily clarified as she took out the photos of the victims' dead bodies and laid them out for Chiasson to see. "Proud of your son's work? Did it remind you of what you did to Landry Babineaux?"

Earl Chiasson's body immediately tensed and reacted to the name, "Landry ran away from home because of…"

"Because of his father" Emily interjected sarcastically. "Yeah I heard that one before, from Leroy French your old pal. That one, he sure is a gabber. Talk talk talk, I didn't do this, I didn't hurt her, blah blah blah" She ranted as she rolled her eyes. "You know what gets me?" she began as she leaned forward, getting closer to Earl Chiasson, "is he talks this big game about his innocence, but then we find one fingernail and poof, all of his qualms about talking just disappear."

Earl Chiasson opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as Emily tapped on the table. "Oh I forgot, you were at bible camp. Let me fill you in on what happened. We picked up Leroy French, we found a box of fingernails that belonged to these girls" Emily stated as she motioned to the pictures. "And then he started clamoring to get a deal, dependent on whether or not he talked about you" Emily lied as she relaxed against the cold chair, leaning back with her arms crossed. "You see a man like French, he has no faith. He believes in making his own destiny, his own path in life. I mean, did you really that he would just leave it in God's hands?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Earl Chiasson replied quietly.

Emily laughed at the remark, "Wow the good Reverend lies. Can you get into heaven as a liar? But considering your murderous streak the lying might be the least of your problems. Tell me Earl did you think that all of your traveling around talking about the Christ would change what you did? Do you honestly believe that putting some clothes and make up on the bodies would change what your son did? You think can just add a halo and call it a day?!"

"I don't…"

"Lie. Liar. You know exactly what I am talking about. You know exactly about how your son defiled those women, raped them, strangled them, blackmailed your friend into hiding the evidence. Those same women that came to you to be reconciled to God. Those same women who trusted you! Does that bother you?" Emily asked as Chiasson continued to stare at his hands. "Answer me!" Emily ordered as she hit the table, causing Chiasson to jump slightly.

Chiasson gulped slightly, "No."

"No it doesn't bother you? Does it bother you that French is going to get a deal instead of you? Does that bother you?"

"He didn't…"

"He didn't talk?" Emily interrupted with a chuckle. "Earl, he got the jump on you. He's been here since yesterday afternoon and you don't think that he wouldn't say anything to save himself. When has he ever sacrificed for anyone else?" Emily crossed her hands on the table as she made her final move. She had crafted a few lies to set Chiasson over the edge, and she hoped they worked. "He told me what you did to Babineaux. How you were in love with him, how he rebuffed your advances and how you got angry because he wouldn't touch you. He told me all about your needs, your desires. The desires you tried to hide when you became a man of God…"

Chiasson became enraged at the accusation as his face turned beet-red, "THAT'S A LIE!"

"Well then explain to me what you did to Landry Babineaux?!"

"He's telling you lies!"

Emily shook her head at the man in front of her, "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to get all of French's testimony and leak it to the press for everyone to see. I can see the headlines now, 'Former Reverend's Shocking Gay Past' or maybe 'Gay Reverend Exited for New Dating Activities in Prison.' Is that one a little long?"

"I didn't do anything! I promise, Leroy got mad and I helped him. You have to believe me! I would never betray God like that" he pleaded as he began to cry.

"You wouldn't?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised.

"NO!" He yelled as he banged his hands on the table.

"And you don't think that hiding your son's kills for him was breaking betraying God?! You know what I think? I think that you covered him for all these years because you knew it was your fault that he did it! It was your fault that he got off on raping and killing woman and your fault that French got away with killing Babineaux!"

"He's my son, he's my boy" Chiasson admitted as he broke down in tears.

"You want to make things right? Tell the truth" Emily ordered gently as she slid a pad across the table. "Tell the truth about what you and French did. Tell the truth about how French killed Landry Babineaux and helped Billy hide evidence. Confess your sins before all the other lies come out, and they will come out."

"I want a deal" Chiasson demanded as he tried to choke down a sob.

Emily nodded to Hotch, who walked through the door to take Chaisson's statement. It had taken a few hours, but by the early morning the team finally had a confession from Chiasson, which confirmed French's involvement in the Vermillion Parrish murders and Landry Babineaux's death. Chiasson had admitted that French killed Babineaux in a teenage fit of rage over a girlfriend and the two had used a small rowboat to dump his body in the Vermillion bay, weighing it down with bricks.

* * *

It was 5am when Hotch informed the team that they were going to leave Abbeville for Quantico by 9am that morning. While most of the team left for the hotel, JJ stayed behind to talk with Emily.

"Hi" JJ greeted as she sat next to her brunette friend in the conference room, "You did great."

"It was exhausting" Emily admitted.

"So, what are you still doing here?"

Emily turned to JJ and gave her a tired smile, "I was planning on avoiding you."

JJ laughed at the streak of honesty, "Because you knew I'd want to tell you that you can make it work. That distance isn't going to guarantee it's going to fail."

Emily sighed as she rubbed her temples, "I don't even know what 'it' is."

"You like him though?"

Emily chuckled at the question, "Maybe I'll grow to like him…if I hit my head really hard."

JJ laughed at the statement, "Well with your history that should happen soon enough. Really Em, where's your head at with Christian?"

"I don't know" Emily admitted as she rested her elbows on her knees. "It's complicated…" she drifted off as she gazed out the window at the city's unexceptional skyline.

"Well, I like him."

Emily laughed at the statement. "You know even know him."

"He seems like a nice guy."

Emily scoffed at the assumption, "When has he ever said anything remotely 'nice' around you?"

"Well" JJ drawled as she poked Emily in the side, "He did show up to bring us that warrant as soon as you called. And I'm sure he's been pleasant other times that I haven't yet witnessed, probably because he likes you and he only lets you see that side of himself. There's something about guys like Christian Cavanagh, the secret sweethearts that come off as jerks sometimes."

Emily nodded at the statement. She knew her reluctance had nothing to do with Christian, that it had more to do with her. It had to do with her trying to pick up the pieces after Doyle, _again. _It had to do with an inability to trust. Could she tell Christian everything she had done for a case? What would he think of her after he found that she fucked someone for a profile? The subject still bothered her almost a decade later, probably because it was wrong. She had allowed herself to be used for sex, and it messed with her head. Maybe that was the reason that she had yet to have a successful relationship. And then there was the occasional nightmares that she didn't want anyone else to know about. How long would it be before Christian found out about them? How would he react? Would he force her to talk about everything with him? How could she explain to him what had happen when she couldn't even process it herself? Emily shook the thoughts from her head, deciding to break things off with Christian before she left for D.C. It was fun for a few days and it had run its course. Maybe that was all it was meant to be. Maybe she just wasn't prepared for a relationship.

"You go should talk to him" JJ advised as she gathered her things to head back to the hotel. Before she exited out the door she turned around to glance at Emily. "You know you are an amazing person and you deserve to be happy. And maybe you're right, maybe Christian isn't the right guy for you. But if you think that there is any chance that he is, you owe it to yourself to try."

Emily gave JJ a small smile and nodded, but she had already made her decision about Christian Cavanagh.

* * *

"I've got forty on dump" Morgan firmly stated as JJ rolled her eyes. At the moment, the younger members of the unit were having breakfast together, betting on what the brunette was going to do about the new man in her life. Of course the wager was Garcia's idea, largely because she didn't want to pay Reid the $20 she owed him from her earlier failed bet on the possible relationship.

Garcia scoffed at the gamble, "I saw her after the other night when she was with him, forty on keep."

"Dump" Reid bet as he scratched his head. "What happened the other night?"

JJ shook her head in disbelief at the younger man as Garcia and Morgan started snickering into their coffee mugs. "Spence, just…" she drifted off, not wanting to explain Emily's activities to the younger man. "You all are ridiculous. Do you have any idea how pissed Emily would be if she found out about your little gambling ring? She'd be furious and you two should be especially scared" JJ warned as she pointed to Reid and Morgan.

"Why us?" They both asked as Garcia ate a piece of French toast happily.

"Because she expects this sort of insanity from Garcia" JJ grinned as Garcia scowled.

"Whatever JJ" Garcia pouted. "I am not crazy."

Much to her dismay, the rest of the team erupted into a fit of laughter at the statement.

"I'm not!" She huffed, "I'm lovably quirky…"

"And you're going to be lovably dead when Emily finds out about this" JJ interjected with an evil grin.

**What is Emily going to do about our favorite foul-mouthed Boston bad boy? Is she going to follow through in breaking things off with him?**

**Should we do a double update day? Tell me in the reviews. The more the merrier. **


	14. I Needed That After Today

**Emily intends to end things with Christian. Does she actually do it…**

**Also, there is a reference to the amazing show Orange is the Black when Christian compares Vermillion Parrish to the movie _Deliverance. _  
**

It was around 7:45am when Emily pounded on Christian's front door until she head him yell from inside, "It's open."

"You shouldn't leave your door open like that" Emily sternly told him as she kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag absent-mindedly on the floor, briskly walking up to the man who was in the kitchen making coffee. She was still wearing the black pants and fitted black half-sleeved shirt from the day before while Christian was wearing a worn white Notre Dame t-shirt and pair of dark wash jeans.

He smirked as he turned around to face her, "Yeah well you would have broke…" he began as she cut him off, pulling the collar of his t-shirt to bring him in for a passionate kiss as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Her tongue massaged the inside of his mouth while her hands went into his hair, stroking and pulling the dark blonde strands, in a way claiming them as her own because in this moment all of Christian Cavanagh belonged to her and she knew it.

"Talk later" she breathlessly ordered as she lifted his shirt off of him and lightly scraped her fingernails against his bare back.

Christian responded by flipping them around, positioning Emily against the kitchen counter as he lifted her on top of it while she wrapped a leg around his waist. While the events that occurred two nights before had been more calculated, more gentle, this time everything about their being together was more frantic and somehow even more intense. Every sense was heightened by the fact that she was leaving soon, they were on borrowed time and intended to make the most of it. For Emily, it had been a long day and all she wanted was to work off all the tension in the best possible way, with Christian. Part of her wasn't sure of what she wasn't doing, but she just didn't care.

Christian tore Emily's shirt off her as he began to kiss down her chest, desperately unclasping her purple laced bra while her hands unbuttoned his jeans pulling them down as her hand slipped into his boxers. "Fuck" he groaned as she stoked his erection, prompting him to pull back and strip off her pants and panties.

"I thought you said...you weren't going to…let me fuck you...on the kitchen counter?" he breathlessly asked in a broke sentence as he sucked on her pulse point and slowly grazed his hand down from her breasts to her core, prompting her to moan.

"I said no talking" she ordered as he brushed a single finger against her, her breath hitching at the contact. "Christian" she panted as she dug her fingernails into his back, yearning for more contact which he gave gladly her.

"I know Emily" he responded as he gave her what he needed, stroking the spot he knew drove her crazy. "I know" he repeated with a growl as he nipped at her harden nipples, soothing the skin with his tongue as he quickened his finger movements, causing her to gasp.

"Oh god there" she moaned before closing her eyes as she felt a wave of pleasure pass over her body a few moments later. The effect he had on her was astounding, but the simple fact was that she drove him just as crazy. Never before had he had such explosive chemistry with someone.

"This is way better than talking" he remarked with a smirk as he pulled her into a passionate kiss while his hands kneaded the soft skin directly under her breasts.

Emily responded by wrapping her arms around his back and pulling him impossibly closer. "Now" she ordered over a pant.

"You're bossy" he teased, groaning as she licked the shell of his ear. "Fuck" he grunted as her hot breath danced against his ear making him even more aroused.

"You love it" she whispered with a smug look as she wrapped her legs around his lower body, creating more friction.

"Fuck Emily…" he uttered over a guttural moan as he entered her. "You're fucking gorgeous…" he drifted off as he got lost in the sensation of being inside her while his hands continued to brush teasingly over her nipples. "Say my name" he requested as Emily tried to register what he had said.

"Hmm?"

He tried to control his breathing enough to clarify what he wanted from her, "My name, your voice is fucking amazing…"

"Christian" she moaned as she dragged her teeth along his neck.

As the minutes passed, Christian brought his hands around her thighs to pull her body even closer to his as he sucked on the soft skin behind her ear before she leaned back, creating the perfect angle as his thrusts perfectly hit her g-spot.

"Christian, I'm…God, I'm going to…" she panted as she clutched the edges of the counter, her knuckles becoming white.

Christian groaned as he felt her reach her climax. "I know you are" he replied with a grin as he drifted his left hand back down, the simultaneous stroking and thrusting setting her over the edge.

"Oh my god" she loudly gasped as she came undone, Christian immediately following her. Before the waves of pleasure subsided she pulled his hair to bring him into another deep kiss before finally pulling away, their breathing equally erratic. A few moments passed before Christian removed himself from her and softly kissed her shoulder while she leaned forward and rested her head under his chin.

"I needed that after today" she admitted as she put her bra back on and took a deep breath as she tried to still her heartbeat.

"Yesterday" he corrected as he pinned a strand of hair behind her ear. "Most of that shit happened yesterday."

"No" she shook her head as she leaned her head against his chest, loving the sound of his heart pounding. "Today has already been way too long" she admitted as he kissed the top her head.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine" she stated, waving him off as she slid off the counter and put the rest of her clothes back on. "Did you ice your hand when you got home?"

Christian grinned at the question, "We both know that my hand was perfectly fine."

Emily rolled her eyes at the remark, "Answer the question pervert."

"I grew up in Southie so I deck shit heads by default. I'm fucking Dr. House M.D. when it comes to home care after fights."

"I actually thought you'd be the one used to being punched in the face considering your unique sort of charm."

Christian chuckled as he put his boxers back on and walked over to sit down on his sofa.

"What?" She asked as she sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"You're like Larry Bird's back in '91" he remarked as she gave him a confused looked. "A fucking spaz" he clarified, making her laugh as she leaned her tired body against his. "So did you arrest Jesus Christ Superstar?" He questioned as he crossed his feet on his glass coffee table.

"Yeah, we did. All of them" she confirmed with a chuckle as she rubbed her tired eyes and brushed out his mussed hair with her fingers.

"Keep up that hair pulling and I'll go bald. We'll see how you'll like that" he teased as she relaxed her body against his both of them enjoying the sense of closeness.. "You did good work…considering." Emily rolled her eyes at the statement but she was too tired to banter with him, which he picked up on as he addressed her in a gentler tone, "Hey, is something wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No" Emily replied shaking her head. "It's nothing, I think I'm just ready to go home…" She responded cryptically as she looked up to gaze into his bright green-blue eyes. Garcia was right, his eyes did change colors. They seemed more blue today.

"Yeah well this place can do that to you. It's like fucking Deliverance here. So...you're leaving then, today?" She nodded in reply to his question as she brought her legs up and laid out on the sofa. "What time do you have to leave?"

She sighed as she looked over to the clock on his oven, "I should be back at the hotel in half an hour"

"Umm, what does this mean Emily?" He questioned, coming off as uncharacteristically unnerved.

"I don't know" Emily admitted as she bit her bottom lip. "I came over to end things, but I...didn't? What does this mean?" she asked as she repeated his question.

Christian cleared his throat before speaking up, "That depends. Do you do this all the time?"

"Do what?"

"Fuck cops from the different cities you travel to."

Emily shook her head in disbelief at the question. She was a little insulted by what he was implying, "Did you really just ask me if I have hoes in different area codes?"

Christian quickly jerked his hand to cover his mouth to try to stop from laughing at the question. "Wow, you have some real street cred there Prentiss. Hoes in different area codes? What is this fucking 1998."

"Shut up" Emily scolded with a laugh. _I have been hanging out with Morgan way too much._

Christian's voice became softer as he began again, "Emily I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything, I was just trying to make a point. You obviously don't fuck different guys throughout the country so on some level you're into this. I get you're on a plane all the time and probably don't want to visit a shitty place like this. I get it, it fucking sucks here" Christian admitted as he scratched the hair near his temple. "However, as you know already know I don't spend my money on furniture or household essentials so I could, in theory, visit you on weekends. I have a pretty dependable schedule and I think we could try the long-distance thing. It will fucking suck sometimes but I don't know...God knows I fucking hate this backwoods inbred shit hole and now that Rhoda's place shut down I have nothing to occupy me in my free time anyway" he quipped.

Emily chuckled at the offer, "I couldn't ask you to do that…"

"Listen, I know that you think I'm an asshole, but I'm a very likable asshole and I have a lot of good qualities."

"Such as?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised as she turned to face him. "Let's go over your qualifications."

"Oh sorry Suze Orman, I don't have a goddamn résumé prepared. Who the fuck do you think you are?" He questioned as he tried to hide a smile.

Emily smirked as she began brighten up, "Well that's one strike against you already."

Christian scoffed at the comment, "Please Prentiss I got this in the bag. First, I'm late for everything…"

"You don't appreciate anyone's time, that's a definite plus."

"I've had someone tell me that I was a pessimist and needed to be in therapy" he added as Emily smiled, thinking back to their earlier interactions.

"That person sounds like a genius."

Christian laughed at the comment, "She's definitely something, not a genius but like a more like a deranged Dr. Phil…"

"Okay now I am definitely convinced you watch Oprah" Emily accused as Christian shook his head.

"I don't watch fucking Oprah" he insisted until she raised an eyebrow at him, giving him her best 'Agent Prentiss' face. "Fine, she has some wicked good advice" he admitted as she tried to control her laughter. "I don't watch it all the time!"

"Only when you're on your period right?" She questioned as she started to snicker again.

Christian shook his head and scowled, "You are a fucking piece of work you know that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, go on with your qualifications for why you should be my girlfriend" she teased as he scanned the room.

"Fine" he huffed before continuing, "I obviously have terrific taste in home decor. I'm basically a homemaker." He joked as he motioned to the empty apartment.

Emily rolled her eyes at the statement and sarcastically added, "You're pretty much Martha Stewart. So, how do you feel about cats?"

"Cats? They're bitchy, pretentious, and aloof so I obviously like them" he answered. "Why? Do you have a cat?"

"Yeah and he's the love of my life" Emily replied firmly as Christian laughed.

"I figured you were some sexually repressed cat lady" he stated in a matter of fact tone as she playfully smacked the back of his head. Christian scratched at his jaw line and smiled, "So does that qualify me to date you?"

"I don't know" Emily replied as she pretended to contemplate the question.

"You know what? I think you have to date me. I really doubt you're going to do any better. Let's face it, you're very off-putting but I've gotten used to you."

Emily waved him off with a wide grin, "I could do way better."

"I'm extremely good-looking…"

"Eh" Emily cut in with a shrug, "maybe good-looking for Vermillion Parrish."

"I have been told on many occasions that I look like the offspring of Leonardo DiCaprio and David Beckham" he shot back confidently with a grin as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Maybe the spawn of Vanilla Ice and a troll" she corrected with a grin as his face sunk.

"Well you seemed pretty into Trolnilla Ice a few minutes ago, which brings me to my second plus. I'm good in bed…or on a kitchen counter" Christian stated with a wink.

"Hmm, I don't know if I remember that" Emily remarked as she gazed off to the side as if she was trying to remember.

Christian leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Let me remind you then."

She laughed at the suggestion and swatted him away before getting serious again. "Christian what I do, I'm gone all the time. And when I am home, which is very rare, I often get called back into work and I have to go. What are you going to do if you come all the way out to see me and then I get called in? Are you going to be okay with that? Because it's going to happen."

"Honestly, I'll be pissed" He stated as he ran his fingers gingerly over her arm. "Emily, I get what you do. I get that this is your job and you're fucking good at it, and you know that I would never say that if I didn't think it was true. I'm not going to bullshit you, yeah, there's going to be times I'm going to be a whiny little bitch about it but that doesn't mean that I'll regret anything. It just means that I'm being an asshole that day, you'll call me out on it and I'll get over it by the next day. That's what we do. I don't play games and what I'm saying is I like you and I willing to try this out if you are" he concluded.

Emily took a deep breath before speaking. "Ugh fine" she replied with a laugh and a lopsided grin.

"I told you, you can't do any better" he joked with a smug look.

"I think it's just because you're fucking parasitic" she shot back with a laugh.

"Stop stealing my lines Prentiss" Christian ordered in a mock angry voice as Emily yawned.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to kind of miss you" she mumbled as she turned up to look at him. "Emphasis on 'kind of.'" She added as he rolled his eyes.

"You are. You are because I'm fucking Jack Kennedy level-charming" he cracked as he shifted his body to face hers, using his left hand to cup her cheek and pull her into an intimate kiss before leaning his forehead against hers. "Call me with your schedule and I'll book a flight, okay?"

"Okay" she agreed as she closed her eyes briefly.

"I'll call you tonight."

"I'll answer" Emily promised as she got up off the sofa and walked to the door pick up her bag. "I have to go" she quietly told him as he nodded and followed her out the door, walking her to the black SUV.

"So this is goodbye then…for now" he commented as he opened the car door for her.

Emily sighed and nodded, "Yeah. This is your fault by the way…"

"How so?" Christian questioned as he tiled his head in confusion.

"Why can't you be more successful and work in D.C.?" She teased as he broke into a fit of laughter.

Christian looked around the empty street before refocusing on Emily with a smirk, "Why? So I can guard the fucking Washington Monument?"

"It'd be a step up from this dump" Emily cracked, trying to hide a smile.

"You act like I work at fucking Dunkies" He shot back as she motioned for him to explain. "You know Dunkin Donuts" he clarified as she started laughing again.

"Why can't you talk like a normal person?"

"I talk like a normal person from Boston. You know what? I miss you a lot less now."

Emily responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a final goodbye kiss, resting her hands at the base of his neck. "No you don't" she whispered into his ear before pulling away and getting into to the car with a self-satisfied look on her face as he stood dumbfounded on the street.

"What a fucking tease" he groaned with a small smile as he walked away as she drove off.

**How will Emily and Christian adjust to long distance? Do you think that Christian genuinely likes Emily? Does she like him? The next chapter includes another girl talk as the team leaves Vermillion Parrish. **

**The drama isn't over yet, and neither is the crime since I'm starting to set up the next case. Don't think I forgot about the man in the baseball cap or the mini prologue at the beginning at ****this work. I have a definite plan and more hints are coming...**

**Thank you to everyone so being so supportive about this story. Your feedback is awesome. I always appreciate reviews so if you haven't left one yet please do. **


	15. Business or Pleasure?

**We're moving towards more drama/crime soon, don't worry...**

**Also, for anyone not from Boston an 'igit' is an idiot. **

Emily arrived at her hotel room around 20 minutes before the team had to leave for the airstrip, which gave her time to quickly shower and pack up her things. She was relieved that Garcia and JJ had gone out to breakfast, as it gave her the opportunity to make herself presentable following her time with Christian. After getting changed and packing up the last of her things, JJ and Garcia entered into the hotel room.

"So…" Garcia hinted as she put her hands on her hips and faced Emily, who was zipping up her go bag.

"Hmm?" Emily asked, pretending that she didn't know what the other two women were wondering about.

JJ gave Emily a pointed look before speaking, "Are you or aren't you?"

"It's nothing okay?" Emily replied as Garcia shook her head in disbelief.

"You didn't!"

"What?"

"You dumped sinfully delicious!" Garcia accused with a loud gasp. "FOR SHAME!"

Emily raised her hand to stop the technical analyst from getting even crazier, "First of all, I was technically never in a relationship with Christian and second, I don't see how this is any of your business."

"We just want you to be happy" JJ clarified in a soft voice. "I think he's good for you. He's not intimidated by you, he gets your job, he has a dark past like you, and he is, as Pen would put it, sinfully delicious."

Emily rolled her eyes at the statement, "If I tell you something about my personal life you can't get insane, okay?"

"She's gay!" Garcia exclaimed as Emily shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. _Why can't I have just one normal person in my life? Just one._ "Which I am totally on board with, we can totally set you up with someone. Okay so I know this entertainer that I hired for Kevin's birthday. How do you feel about ventriloquists? Now keep in mind Emster what they can do with their hands…" Garcia rambled before Emily cut her off.

"We're trying long distance okay?"

Garcia squealed in excitement, "You met a woman already?"

"No, me and Cavanagh."

"But you just told me you were gay" Garcia answered with a perplexed look as JJ face palmed. She should have never let Garcia have that much coffee.

Emily shook her head, "No, Garcia you told me I was gay."

"Oh yeah" Garcia admitted as JJ started to giggle. "So you're really into him then?" Garcia asked hopefully.

Emily scoffed at the question, "No, I've known him for like five days and he's kind of an asshole."

"But he's your asshole" Garcia stated dreamily before she realized what she had said. "I didn't mean that, that came out wrong."

Emily and JJ couldn't help but laugh at the slip, "Anyway Em, we both know that you saw past the entire I'm an asshole from Boston act in like twelve seconds. Face it, you totally like this guy" JJ insisted as they walked out of the room.

"No way" Emily adamantly replied as JJ and Garcia simultaneously rolled their eyes. "It's just a casual thing…"

"Sure" JJ drawled sarcastically, "So when are you coming back to see him?"

"He's coming to visit me instead…"

"See total sweetheart!" Garcia shrieked as she began to clap her hands happily.

"It's not a big deal" Emily insisted as she rolled her eyes.

"Okay Em, does Christian do relationships?" JJ asked as she brought her finger to her lips and motioned for Garcia to keep quiet.

Emily shrugged, "I don't know."

"I mean is he looking for a hookup or he looking for something serious?"

"I don't know" Emily repeated, starting to get irritated by the constant questioning.

Garcia sighed and spoke up, "Gumdrop, did he mention his thoughts on kids?"

"Yes Garcia, in the five days I've known him Christian Cavanagh has told me about his ticking biological clock" Emily snapped sarcastically, "I told you I don't know."

"Well snippy I thought for once you'd know something" Garcia huffed as JJ interjected.

"Is he going to call you?"

"Yes" Emily replied, happy that she at least had one answer for them.

"So that means he totally likes you, he wouldn't call otherwise. Did he say anything about being your boyfriend?"

Emily bit her bottom lip as she thought back to their conversation, "Not really, it was kind of ambiguous."

"This is the only thing that matters Em" JJ began with a soft voice, "What do you want at this stage in your life? Do you want something casual or are you looking to wind up with someone?"

Emily took a deep breath as she thought about the complex question. In theory, she would like to settle down with someone, but could she handle a real relationship with everything she was going through after Doyle? Garcia and JJ couldn't even comprehend where she was emotionally and she didn't feel like trying to explain it to them. The simple fact was that she didn't feel ready to divulge all of her secrets to anyone, and Christian seemed to understand that. Maybe that was why things were so natural with him, he didn't push too far. He let her keep her secrets. But the real question was, did she like Christian or did she just like having sex with him? Because there was a difference. Then there was the issue of what Christian wanted. It was obvious that he liked her, but he wasn't even thirty years old yet, was he ready to settle down? Emily rubbed her temples to fend off the impending migraine, finally speaking up to answer JJ.

"I'm not sure of what I want."

"Well Gumdrop I think you need to figure that out" Garcia stated as she rubbed Emily's arm. "You know, I really do think he likes you."

"I don't know about that, I do insult him a lot."

"I think he likes how feisty you are. Guys like him are used to girls fawning all over them, but with you it's different."

"I guess so…I mean he did ask me if he qualified to date me" Emily confessed as JJ's face lit up. She wanted nothing more than for her best friend to be happy, and it looked like Christian made her happy. Garcia for her part squealed in excitement over the latest development. "PG volume control, I'm exhausted" Emily chided as JJ and Garcia shared a look.

"Why are you so tired Emily, what did you do with Christian before saying your goodbyes? Hmmm?" JJ asked knowingly.

"We went out to breakfast" Emily lied with a shrug as Garcia grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"And did you run out of money?" Garcia asked as JJ started to giggle, amused by Emily's cluelessness.

Emily stopped and turned to face the other two women as they made it to the SUVs, "What?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you paid in a creative way because of THAT hickie on your neck" Garcia informed Emily as she pointed to the dark mark near Emily's pulse point while the brunette tried to angle her head to see it for herself.

"Fuck me" Emily groaned as she blushed, attempting to brush her hair over the contrasting dark mark on her pale skin.

"I believe that Christian already did that" JJ commented as Emily glared at her.

Emily chose to ignore the comment as she loaded up her things in the SUV's trunk while Garcia discreetly, well as discreet as Penelope Garcia could be, turned to JJ. "And now those two Debbie Downers owe me $40 each" Garcia informed JJ in the loudest whisper ever, prompting JJ to cringe when Emily turned around to glare at the two other women.

"What?" Emily inquired in a firm tone as she walked closer to Garcia, who was trying to hide behind JJ.

"Get out of here" JJ ordered as she pushed Garcia towards Emily. She wasn't part of this little bet and she wasn't going to die because of it.

Emily scowled at Garcia who just dumbly waved back, unsure of how to avoid Emily's wrath. "Garcia, who is paying you $40 and why would it involve me?"

"Here's the thing…"

"Garcia! You were betting on my personal life" Emily accused as Garcia started to shake her head 'no' enthusiastically.

JJ grinned at the sight, "And they were betting on whether or not you'd have sex with Christian" she added as Garcia gave the blonde the evil eye.

"You what?!" Emily exclaimed as JJ tried to stop from laughing.

"Uh, well, it was _all_ Morgan's idea, you know how he can be, no boundaries with that one. And, umm, I was just so happy for you and he's so hot and it's like who wouldn't sleep with him? Everyone would, duh, and since you already know about the whole betting thing, when exactly did it happen? Because if it happened in the hotel I, umm…" Garcia rambled nervously as Emily shook her head in disbelief.

"You are all ridiculous" the brunette huffed as she got into the car and slammed the door. It was going to be a long plane ride home, with a few possible fatalities.

* * *

Penn Station, New York City

The train station was crowded as the man in the blue baseball cap moved further up the ticket line. The woman who was working the line was young, pretty, fresh, _untainted_. She looked to be in her early twenties and had dark brown hair with deep brown eyes. She looked just like _her. _The man in the blue baseball cap lightly swallowed at the sight as the memories came flooding back to him, making his heart beat faster in anticipation. _Soon. Everything you've wanted for years, everything you've been planning for is going to be ready after a few more months. _He took a deep breath and tried to still his heart as he heard a loud beeping that made him stop dead in his tracks, until he realized that it was just a phone.

"People can be rude" he grumbled as he approached the head of the line, his eyes scanning over the woman in front of him.

The young female Amtrak clerk smiled before addressing him, "How can I help you sir?"

"One ticket to Providence" he replied as he paid for the ticket, revealing a celtic scorpion tattoo on his right hand and wrist as he slid the money over to the clerk.

"Business or pleasure?" She asked with a wide smile as he pulled his baseball cap down further, blocking his features.

"A little bit of both…hopefully more pleasure though" he remarked as he walked away, clutching the St. Christopher's Medallion in his hand.

* * *

Emily was sitting on her sofa, watching TV with Sergio and eating Chinese food out of a takeout container when her phone rang. She really wasn't looking forward to having another case so soon and groaned as she grabbed her phone off the coffee table, answering the call before checking who it was first.

"Prentiss" She snapped.

"Hey Sundance Kid" Christian greeted in a cheery tone on the other end of the line.

"Christian?" Emily questioned as she muted the Dr. Who rerun she was watching.

"Yeah. What? You have a lot of other guys from Boston calling you? From fucking North Shore?" He sarcastically accused with a grin.

Emily shook her head and ignored the question, opting to ask one of her own, "Sundance Kid?"

Christian smirked at the question, "Well obviously I'm fucking Butch Cassidy."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Whatever, you know what? That is the worst idea for a nickname ever. Anyway what do you want?" Emily asked with a smile.

"What do I want? Wow, nice manners. I guess I really am talking to Emily Prentiss and not Emily fucking Post" he complained as Emily chuckled.

"Once again, you should be embarrassed by the fact that you know who Emily Post is" she teased as Christian shook his head and smiled. "Why are you calling me so late?"

"Sorry, I was going to call earlier but I was watching the Sox game. Did you catch the Sox game?"

"Unfortunately I missed it" Emily sarcastically answered with an eye roll.

"Well the Rangers can't play for shit, and Fucking Ortiz, he's a class act you know? I'm not saying I'm gay but…"

"Don't finish that thought" Emily interjected with a laugh. "I always thought you were a Yankees fan" she teased as she heard Christian choke on the other end of the line.

"Fucking Yankees?! Yankees?!"

"I heard they're going to be really great this year…"

"The Yankees are going to fucking suck" Christian responded as Emily tried to stop herself from laughing, zoning out as he ranted on. "And Jeter can go fuck himself" he concluded.

"Are you done?"

Christian sighed, "Yeah."

"Okay so what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I can't come out to see you this weekend. I have to give an official I.A. statement because of that fucking moron Gates" he huffed as he rubbed his eyes. "But next weekend I have something planned…"

A small smile crept across Emily's face as she ran her free hand through her hair, "How can you plan something for here if you've never been to D.C. before?"

Christian scoffed at the question, "I can work Google. I'm not a fucking igit."

"Well that's debatable."

Christian laughed at the insult, "You're wicked mean kid. You know that?"

"It's my best quality" Emily shrugged with a chuckle. "Well, call me with your schedule and we'll work something out."

"So are you going to pick me up at the airport with one of the fucking cardboard signs that says 'Mr. Cavanagh'?"

"I'm not picking you up."

"What?"

"There are these great things called taxi cabs and if you pay them money they will take you anywhere you want."

Christian scowled at the suggestion, "You're a fucking piece of work, you know that?"

"Yep. Goodnight Christian" Emily simply replied as she hung up the phone with a smirk. She had to admit that whenever she talked to Christian he brightened up her mood. He wasn't overly sensitive, she could banter with him and he wouldn't get upset. She liked that about him, but what really scared her was that she liked a lot about him.

**And what about the man in the blue baseball cap? Some of you are on the right track with your predictions, but you're not there quite yet…all be revealed soon.**

**We have reached the halfway point of this story, but after a few lighter chapters it's going to get a bit more dramatic.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews, keep them coming. **


	16. We Need To Talk

**We're starting with a flashback, but who are the two individuals conversing in it?**

_7 Years Prior_

_"We need to talk."_

_"About?"_

_"Don't play fucking stupid with me Jackie. You know what we need to talk about, Providence. Someone fucked up."_

_"That wasn't me."_

_"I know that. But I know who did, and I know you do too."_

_"He made a fucking mistake…"_

_"You can do a hundred things right and make one mistake that fucks everything up. Just try not to make a mess when you do it, I'd like to give him a decent funeral."_

_"What if we…"_

_"Enough! Don't you think I have been bending over like a fucking Russian gymnast trying to fix this shit?! What am I fucking retarded now? Did I get here by being fucking retarded Jackie?!"_

_"No."_

_"If I say it needs to be done than it needs to be fucking done! __If I could write his sins I would, but we both know that his fucking mistakes need to be paid in blood. You think I want to go to war with some meatball eating motherfuckers from fucking Providence?"_

_"No."_

_"You need to understand something, all that I have, all of it was earned. It was paid for with blood, sweat, and tears."_

_"Not your blood."_

_"Or my tears."_

_"But it was our sweat."_

_"You okay with that?"_

_"I'm not okay with wasting it."_

_"Neither am I. You know, some people, they call me a fucking egomaniac with a God complex. I call it the truth, a man creates his own God. You don't want to waste that sweat, then you do what is needed to protect it. Protect what I built. Protect what will be yours...Become your own God. It's time Jackie."_

_"I can't."_

_"Can't or won't?"_

_"When it comes to pulling the trigger, what's the difference?"_

_"Everything."_

* * *

Christian was originally anticipating that he was going to be able to visit Emily two weeks after she left Abbeville. However, it seemed that serial killers had other plans for the couple as Emily and the team were assigned a case in Wichita, Kansas where a deranged unsub appeared to be collecting the bodies parts of young men. As he had predicted earlier, Christian was not too enthused about the development, but tried to be somewhat supportive nonetheless. For her part, Emily had to admit that she missed the company of the snarky Lieutenant, and she was genuinely happy when she saw his name flash on her cell phone caller I.D. Although it had been three weeks since she had last seen him in person, they had been talking on the phone just about every night. Emily was sharing an unremarkable Wichita hotel room with JJ, who was showering, when Christian called. Having just finished drying her hair after her own shower, Emily leaned against the wooden headboard of the comfortable bed as she answered the call.

"Christian Cavanagh" she answered with a smile, "to what do I owe this intrusion?"

A smile crept upon his face as he sat in front of his muted TV, drinking a beer. "Intrusion? You should know by now that anytime you get to talk to me it's a fucking honor."

"Sure" Emily replied sarcastically with a smirk.

"You're smirking aren't you?" He questioned in a smug tone.

"No" Emily lied as Christian started to laugh on the other side of the line.

"You are. We both know you are" he challenged with a grin. "So what's up? How's your Raggedy Ann case?"

Emily shook her head at the question, "Raggedy Ann?"

"Isn't that a doll with like a bunch of different body parts?" He asked as she broke into a fit of laughter.

"What are you talking about? What doll has a bunch of different body parts?"

"I don't know, I thought you like collected different body parts to create your own doll or something…"

"Oh my God Christian, that would be the most disturbing child's toy ever" Emily informed him as she tried to stop laughing. "Like now you have an arm Suzy, only one more to go…"

Christian chuckled at the image, "I don't know I made an error, okay? Are you happy to hear that?"

"Yes I am" Emily replied happily with a lopsided grin. "So what are you doing?"

"Nothing, watching TV. You?"

"I just out of the shower."

Christian groaned at the simple statement as he pulled at his hair, "What are you wearing?"

"I am so not doing this with you" Emily shot back.

"You're not doing anything with me, that's the problem!" He complained as she started to chuckle at his misfortune.

Emily ran her hand through her hair as she shuffled around to get more comfortable in the bed, "You are such a cry baby."

"I'm not a fucking monk" He argued as he took a sip of his beer.

She scoffed at the very accurate remark, "You wouldn't last three days as a monk."

"Please just tell me what you're wearing?" He almost pleaded as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Nothing" she merely replied with a shrug and an evil grin.

"Are you fucking serious? Okay are you…"

Emily quickly interrupted him, "No you idiot, and I'm sharing a room with JJ so I am really not doing this with you."

"Throw her out."

"You're horrible" she chided playfully as JJ turned on the blow dryer in the other room.

"You already knew that before you started dating me. Just say you have E. coli or something" he suggested as he turned off his TV.

Emily smiled at the absurd idea before responding, "Like I have a staph infection and a nasty rash that is spreading all over my naked body?"

"Fuck…"

Emily shook her head at Christian's antics, "Are you seriously getting turned on by a rash? You know what? I'm hanging up now" she threatened.

"Fine, fine, fine" he huffed on the other line of the phone. "So how was your day?"

"It was okay, you know other than the whole unsub murdering innocent people and stealing their body parts thing. Reid took my coffee and then tried to convince me that I drank it myself…"

"Reid, is that the one who always looks like he stepped out of the fucking basement?"

Emily tilted her head in confusion, "The basement?"

"Filene's Basement? The store" Christian added as he tried to clarify what he meant.

"You've got to stop dropping these Boston references Christian, I'm not going to get them" Emily informed him with a small smile.

Christian scratched his jaw line as before speaking up again, "You know what I realize?"

"What?"

"I don't anything about your childhood. I don't even know where you grew up. Where are you from? You're like the fucking international woman of mystery."

Emily sighed as she bit her bottom, "Pretty much everywhere."

"What does that mean though?"

"My mother was, well she still is an Ambassador so I lived all over the globe. I lived in Russia, the Ukraine, Paris, Rome, the Middle East, Spain, D.C., Belgium, really everywhere."

Christian's voice became softer, "That must have been hard, to move around so much."

"It was" Emily admitted in a quiet voice.

"I'm sorry, but you I bet it made you wicked smart."

Emily laughed at the statement, "I guess, I can speak a few languages because of it."

"See, that's fucking incredible" he replied in an excited voice that made her smile.

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Can you speak any other languages?"

"I can speak French, that's it."

"Did you take it college?" She inquired as he spread out on his sofa.

Christian took a deep breath before answering, "No, my mother taught me. We would go to Paris every spring until she passed, and she would also read this book, The Little Prince, to me in French every night."

Emily smiled at the visual, "She sounds like she was a great mother."

"Yeah she was. She was…" he drifted off as he cleared his throat.

"Did your dad to read to you every night?"

Christian humorlessly laughed at the question, "No, he wasn't really sober enough to recognize words. That fucking guy…whatever, what about your mom? Is she literate?"

Emily scoffed at the implication at Elizabeth Prentiss was illiterate, "Definitely literate, but she didn't read to me much as a child. Sometimes, but it was mostly nannies.

"So you have anything you want to add about your childhood?"

Emily debated internally whether or not to tell him about Rome and Matthew, but ultimately decided against it. "Not this time. You?"

"I had this fucking piece of shit shower head and I used to get water in my ears all the time" Christian answered as Emily shook her head and chuckled.

"That wasn't what I meant idiot. Okay who was your childhood crush?"

"Marisa Tomei, that fucking woman" Christian answered as he shook his head. "I've always had a thing for older woman. I swear to God, she's like 50 years old now and I'm still into her."

"Do I need to be scared?" Emily inquired feigning hurt.

"No" Christian answered with a laugh. "I like girls that can beat the shit out of me so I think you're pretty safe."

A lopsided grin appeared on Emily's face at the revelation, "Oh really?"

"Yeah really, so childhood crush?"

"Don't laugh" Emily requested as she cringed, "Tom Selleck…"

"Tom Selleck!" Christian exclaimed with a laugh, "You have a thing for a hairy chest and porn star mustaches!"

"I told you not to laugh."

"But I did not agree" Christian smirked.

Emily scowled at his defense, "You're the worst...Anyway how was work today?"

Christian groaned at the question, "I'm going out of my fucking mind. First, I'm on fucking paperwork duty until the official inquiry about my actions with Mikey is over and I'm cleared. Then I had to go down to fucking I.A. again because apparently it is frowned upon to punch veteran detectives in the face…" He sarcastically stated as Emily started laughing.

"So what is going on with Gates?"

"That fucking prick is getting off from it. He went to the academy with a few of the fuckers from I.A., I swear this place is so damn corrupt. I fucking hate it here Emily, it's like everyone owes everyone some sort of fucking favor. I don't do favors, if I don't punch you in the face for acting like an asshole then that's your fucking favor" he ranted as Emily covered her mouth to stop from laughing.

"I'm sorry that sounds stressful."

"I swear to God, when you see me next I will have lost my fucking youthful glow" he informed her with a smile.

"Well we can't have that, your looks are you best quality."

"Don't I know it. I mean, I can't be a nice person, that would kill me" he quipped before getting serious again, sighing audibly as he scratched his head, "Mikey's funeral was today…"

Emily took a deep breath before she cut into the brief silence, "How was that?"

"It fucking sucked, he was a good guy. He was only twenty-three years old you know? His parents, it's like how is that ever okay? To make a parent bury their own fucking child. I don't know…" he drifted off as he tried to shake the thoughts from his head. "What we do, sometimes it's just really fucked up."

"Yeah" Emily agreed in a soft voice as she thought back to her own undercover days and wondered if any of her handlers cared about her as much as Christian cared about his officers.

"So are you going to play tour guide when I come to see you?" Christian asked as he changed to subject to lighter fair.

"I thought you had something planned?"

"I do, but I was hoping you'd show me around a little. I didn't realize I was asking for a fucking kidney here."

"You know I was actually planning on dropping you off in the middle of the Virginia hunting woods with a compass to see if you could find your way back" she replied as sarcastically as JJ left the bathroom and climbed into the room's other bed. "Hey JJ's here, do you want to say hi?"

"No" Christian replied with a laugh as Emily closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You're unbelievable, you know who you remind me of?"

"Who?" Christian asked as a smile spread across his face. "Indiana Jones? Tom Brady? Paul Pierce? Fucking Larry Bird?!"

"Those two old guys from the Muppets who heckle everyone" she answered as she started laughing again. JJ smiled as she watched the interaction, curious about what the conversation was about.

Christian got off his sofa and walked into his bedroom as he waited for Emily's laughing to subside before responding, "You're real fucking proud of yourself about that one aren't you Prentiss?"

"Yep" she admitted with a small sigh as she looked over to the bedside clock. She needed to get to sleep soon, the team was expected to start early in the morning and she needed to be fresh.

"Whatever" he complained playfully as he sat down on the edge of his bed and noticed the time on the clock, "You need to get going huh?"

"I should probably go to bed."

"Fuck, don't say bed."

Emily chuckled at the request, "You have issues."

"And you're dating me so what does that say about your mental state?" He shot back with a grin. "Well, have a goodnight and take care of yourself tomorrow. Okay?"

"I will" she assured him with a small smile. "About the whole Mikey thing, he knew you cared okay? Don't forget that. I'm sure he always knew how badly you wanted to protect him, it's just a risk we all take. You know that better than anyone."

"Yeah I guess" Christian agreed with a yawn. "Take care of that rash."

"Shut up" she scolded with a grin. "Goodnight Christian."

"Goodnight Emily" he replied as she hung up the phone.

JJ smiled at her brunette counterpart before addressing her, "So, how's Christian?"

"He's still Christian" Emily said with a smirk as JJ started giggling. There really wasn't any other way to describe his Christian-isms to anyone who didn't know him.

"When's he going to visit you?"

"Probably the weekend after we get back."

"Aww, he misses you" JJ stated as Emily nodded and started to blush. She wasn't very comfortable talking about her personal life with anyone, even JJ.

"How's Henry?"

"I hope he's doing better. Will is still, well, Will" JJ awkwardly answered as she rubbed her temples. "Sometimes I just wish that he better understood my job, that this is what I love to do."

"I'm sorry Jayje, it'll be better tomorrow if Henry feels better" Emily encouraged her friend as she lied down in the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

JJ waved the other woman off as she turned off the lamp on the nightstand, "No, it is what it is. Couples fight, you'll see."

"Oh God, you see how we are now, can you imagine how bad a fight between us is going to be?" Emily asked as JJ started laughing.

"Well that is the price you pay for having explosive chemistry, which reminds me, you never gave me any details about…"

Emily knew where this conversation was heading and immediately cut the blonde off, "And I never will."

"Oh come on, it's not like I'm pervy like Pen" JJ argued.

"The fact you're asking me this question makes you exactly like PG" Emily shot back as she heard JJ whining to herself. "You in a bit of a drought Jayje?"

"Ugh, you have no idea" JJ complained as Emily tried to stifle a chuckle.

"I haven't seen Christian in three weeks, so yeah, I have an idea."

"Well, you just wait until you have kids. Which reminds me…"

Emily was quick to interrupt the other woman who acting less like JJ and more like a lethal combination of Barbara Walters and Penelope Garcia. "No JJ."

"What?"

"You know what" Emily scolded as she heard JJ huff from the other bed. "Goodnight JJ."

"Night Emily" JJ grumbled as she turned on to her side and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The team was back at the BAU a few days after the case in Wichita ended and Emily needed to bring a few cases files down to Garcia's office. However, after giving a quick warning knock and entering into the office, she was shocked by what she saw.

"Garcia?" Emily asked the technical analyst with an eyebrow raised as she glared at the other woman, who was completely frozen in fear by the brunette's unexpected intrusion. "What is _that_?" Emily asked as she pointed over to a computer screen, which JJ was trying to cover with her hands. "JJ move your hands" she ordered as JJ slightly gulped and obeyed, revealing a forensic mock-up of a toddler. "Now, what is that?" Emily inquired again in a stern voice as JJ motioned for Garcia to explain.

"Well Gumdrop, here's the thing. You know how I think you're gorgeous?"

"Get to the point."

"I am" Garcia huffed before recoiling when Emily glared at her again. "Well you're gorgeous and sinfully delicious is obviously totally hot and JJ and I…"

"Oh do not include me in this little project of yours" JJ interjected with a glare of her own. "You called me down here to look at your work!"

"And you liked it!"

Emily rubbed her temples and spoke up, "Why is there a picture of a toddler that looks eerily like me on your computer screen?"

"It's your baby" Garcia offered with a small smile. "Okay, so don't be mad but I just thought, wow, if those two had a baby it would be the most gorgeous baby in the world. It would be a super baby of hotness and snark...so I may have gotten Christian's driver's license picture and a picture of you and sent it to the FBI forensic artist and ta-da" Garcia concluded with a theatrical gesture over to the screen as Emily rolled her eyes.

"You are so insane. Do you have any idea how crazy that is? Okay first, let's forget about the fact that I've only been dating Christian for a like a month and let's focus on how you hacked into the DMV database and wasted FBI resources to see what my hypothetical baby would look like."

Garcia scrunched up her face in deep concentration, "Well when you put it like that…" she trailed off as Emily couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry."

"Just don't ever do it again."

"I won't, scouts honor" Garcia promised with a smile. "Now admit that your baby would be adorable."

Emily shook her head as she looked over to JJ who just shrugged, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Pen called me down to see her work."

"I thought you had a date with Will?" Emily questioned. She knew that the blonde and her Southern husband were having problems recently and were supposed to have a night out to talk some things out. "Did you cancel him?"

"No" JJ sighed as she slumped down on an extra chair in the office. "The babysitter cancelled us and Garcia already has plans with Kevin and can't watch Henry."

"I can watch him" Emily offered with a smile. "You guys need the time alone, he can even stay over if you want."

"Em, I don't want to put you out…"

"You aren't. You know I love Henry. Okay, Sergio won't be too thrilled by the company" Emily admitted as Garcia and JJ started to laugh while Emily continued on. "But you need some time to yourselves. I'll bring him to you in the morning so you can drop him off at daycare."

"Em you're a lifesaver" JJ gratefully remarked. "Okay, let me call Will and have him pack up Henry and we can head out together in like half an hour. Is that okay?"

"Sure" Emily answered as she turned her attention back to Garcia. "And you, erase whatever that is" she ordered as she pointed to the picture and left.

* * *

Although he was supposed to arrive the next day, Christian hadn't seen Emily in almost a month and looked forward to surprising her after taking off a day of work so he could fly down to D.C. He had headed over to the airport immediately after work and was still wearing the navy blue pants, light blue oxford, and solid navy blue tie that he had worn to the office. He was tired and looked a bit disheveled, as his tie was only loosely knotted and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. After taking a cab to Emily's address and finding the correct apartment he knocked on the door, only to be surprised when a little blonde boy opened up. Christian titled his head in confusion as he glanced down at the paper he wrote Emily's address on and looked back to the apartment door's number. It was the right place, but that didn't make any sense. In the dozens of conversations that they had, Emily never mentioned having a son. Did she? Christian was thoroughly confused as the little boy observed him for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Who are you?"

"Uh, I'm Christian. Who the f-friend are you?" Christian asked in a gentle tone, awkwardly trying to prevent himself from cursing. _  
_

"Henry."

**Some of you have picked up on the scorpion tattoo being significant, which it completely is. The fact is that ALL of the tattoos mentioned in the work are significant, there's your hint. **

**Additionally, the title of this work also has a bearing on this story. Just so you know, everything is connected.**

**After a few (maximum of three) lighter chapters we're going to be moving into more drama and into the final case which explains all the flashbacks and the identity of the man in the blue baseball cap. **

**Thanks again for all the continued feedback. I love reviews.**


	17. Have You Ever Tried Forrest Gumping?

**This chapter is a little long, but I didn't want to split it so I hope everyone is okay with the length. **

**Plus, I want to set up the relationship before we reach the climax of the story...**

Hearing the door front door open from her bedroom, Emily came running down the hallway to find Christian staring at the small boy with a perplexed look on his face. "Henry, what did Mommy say about opening the door?"

"Only with a grown up" Henry admitted with a frown as he walked away from the door.

_Mommy? Okay this is totally her kid. That's okay, you can do this Cavanagh. It's fine, she's a single mom, no big deal. _"Christian, you're here" Emily remarked in an astonished tone as she opened the door wider. "Come in."

Christian cracked his knuckles and walked into the spacious apartment, scanning the area as he did. "So, uh, you have a kid. Not that that's a bad thing just…" he trailed off as Emily started to laugh.

"No, he's not mine. He's JJ's son. You would think that the blonde hair, blue eyes, and the fact he looked just like her would be a dead giveaway. I'm just watching him tonight and we're waiting for the pizza delivery guy, that's why he opened the door even though his mother is trying to break him of the habit" Emily informed him as Christian exhaled sharply. "I'm going to drop him off to her in the morning so she can take him to pre-school."

"Why don't you just take him?"

"Because with our job you never know…" she began as he nodded, seeming to know where she was headed with the conversation. Life's fickle to begin with and that coupled with a career in law enforcement made one uniquely aware of how short life could be.

"It's good to see you" Christian replied with a smile as he leaned down and gave Emily a deep kiss, running his tongue along her lips as she pulled away.

"We can't" she informed him as she looked over to Henry who was engrossed in some TV show.

"Fuck Emily, we haven't had sex in a month" Christian complained as Emily smacked him on the chest.

"Language" she chided as Christian rolled his eyes.

"People cursed around me all the time when I was a kid and I turned out just fine."

Emily smirked at the defense, "We'll table that issue for now. But we really can't do anything tonight. I am not scaring JJ's son for life, she would never let me live it down. And you're sleeping on the couch."

Christian shook his head at the order, "What? I came all the way down from the earth's armpit to sleep on a couch?"

"Well Henry's in the spare room and you are _so_ not sleeping with me."

"Why not?"

"Because I know you Christian, and I know exactly what you'll try to do" Emily whispered seductively in his ear, sending chills down his body.

Christian groaned in frustration as he rubbed his eyes. "This is...I don't even have words for what you're doing to me right now. It's fucking torture, it's fucking Guantanamo Bay-Iraqi Prison level shit" Christian whispered as Emily cracked up while he dropped his bags on the floor. "Your apartment is nice, a lot nicer than mine."

"Yeah well that's not saying much" Emily shot back. "A shanty house would be nicer than where you live."

"Well you seemed pretty comfortable in it last time."

Emily rolled her eyes at the claim and smirked, "So where are my flowers Cavanagh?"

Christian scoffed at the question, "You should know by now that seeing me is enough of a gift" he began as Emily laughed. "But I did get you this" He offered as he took a package of Alligator jerky out of his jeans' back pocket, handing it over to Emily who frowned.

"Alligator jerky, oh Christian you shouldn't have" Emily said in a mock happy tone. "And by that I mean never get this for me again" she added with a smirk as he started laughing.

"Most guys would bring flowers but not me…"

"Yeah what are the phone numbers of these other guys so I can date them instead" Emily teased as she walked into her kitchen to take out an extra plate for him. Christian followed her and snaked his arms around her waist before Emily spoke up, "Move those hands up any further and you'll lose them."

"Well they would have been sacrificed for a worthy cause" he quipped as he lightly kissed her neck before pulling away, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest as Emily turned to face him. "I'm a little shocked that you can actually control yourself around me and a kitchen counter" he stated with a smug look as Emily shook her head and redirected the conversation.

"So what are you going to do tomorrow while I'm at work?"

Christian shrugged in response, "Just say you have the bird flu and call in sick like I did."

Emily chuckled at the suggestion, "Oh like that's such a wonderful idea. I guess we could have lunch together or something…"

"Oh sorry you're so busy, I didn't realize I was dating the fucking Queen of England" Christian sarcastically stated as Emily hit him on the shoulder.

"Language!"

"Sorry" he apologized as he raised his hands in surrender and walked away, sitting down on the sofa with Henry who turned around the face the new man.

"Hi."

"Hey kid" Christian greeted with a wink. "You like baseball?"

"Yeah" Henry replied excitedly.

"Red Sox?" Christian asked hopefully as Henry shook his head 'no.' "What are your parents teaching you?" Christian joking asked as Henry started giggling.

"I know lots about planes and animals" he replied excitedly as he squirmed around on the sofa and started babbling on about whatever JJ and Will had told him about the subjects over the past few weeks. Christian had zoned out a bit, due to the stress and exhaustion from his day at work, until Henry accidentally hit him in the shoulder, shaking him from this thoughts.

After he finished his story, Henry looked to Christian expectantly, waiting for him to reply. The man scratched his jaw line as he tried to think of something to say to Henry. He had never been around kids before and he wasn't sure what conversation topics were deemed appropriate for children. "You play baseball?" He finally asked as Henry's face lit up at the question, prompting him to go on about his t-ball games. The blonde boy was thoroughly impressed when he found out Christian used to play baseball in college. After some warming up, Christian eventually found it easier to entertain the energetic five-year old, especially after Emily joined them and the pizza came.

* * *

A few hours and a pepperoni pizza later, Emily put Henry to bed and went back to sit with Christian who was trying, without success, to get into an episode of Dr. Who. "I don't see how you can watch this shit" he remarked with a grin as Emily glared at him.

"It's not shit" she adamantly replied, "You're just going to have to make peace with the fact that I'm kind of a nerd."

"Oh there is no 'kind of' involved, you are definitely a nerd" Christian teased as Emily smacked his arm playfully before having another sip of wine.

"So who is this kid you're watching?"

"JJ's son, I told you that. Why do you not like him?"

"No, he's a nice kid. He likes baseball, but he also likes soccer so that's a character flaw" he teased as Emily shook her head with a small smile. "It's a little weird that he hasn't learned the whole 'stranger danger' thing. But mostly I was just surprised to see him because I thought you would have told me if you had a son" Christian admitted with a yawn. "So you don't have any kids then?"

"No" Emily answered before clearing her throat. "Is that a good thing?"

Christian laughed at the question, "I don't know if I'm the right person to ask that."

"Why not?" Emily inquired as she took a gulp of wine. It definitely wasn't the right time for her to even be considering children, but she knew that someday she wanted the possibility of a family, of what JJ had. Granted, maybe it would be too late biologically after she sorted out the Doyle issues, but she could always adopt. She definitely didn't need a husband or partner to do it, but having someone else in her life would be ideal.

"Well" Christian began as he scratched the hair near his temple, "It's kind of up to you to know whether or not you having kids is a good thing. It's like, you having one wouldn't have been a deal breaker, I wouldn't have left if Henry was yours. I was just surprised" he tried to explain as he fumbled over his words.

"Have you ever thought about it?"

Christian took a deep breath before answering, "No, I haven't."

"Oh" Emily responded as she nodded.

"But it's not like I'm opposed to it" Christian explained as his voice became a little less relaxed. "I just haven't dated anyone seriously in a while so there wasn't a reason to think about it" he further clarified before changing the subject, "Who is JJ's husband anyway?"

Emily stretched out on the sofa before answering, "They're not married but her boyfriend's name is Will LaMontange. He's a detective, he's from Louisiana too…" Emily drifted off before Christian interrupted her.

"Oh there is no 'too.' I'm not from fucking Louisiana. I just work there."

"Sorry" Emily offered with a shrug. "You see, I don't get that."

"What?" Christian asked as he shifted his body to better face her.

"Okay, you obviously love Boston and you hate Vermillion Parrish with a passion, but you don't live in Boston. Do you even ever visit?"

Christian sighed as he scratched his jaw line. Emily had learned that was his tell, he was apprehensive about answering her. "It's complicated, but I guess the best way to put it would be that I miss it until I'm there. It's like I romanticize it and then when I'm back, it doesn't feel like home anymore. It's like too much shit has gone down and I can't look at it the same way. It's like it's tainted. You get that?"

Emily just nodded in reply. She understood that feeling better than anyone, the feeling that you can never return to a place. The inexplicable feeling that you are no longer welcome, that the former idea of 'home' no longer exists anymore. "I get that" Emily quietly responded as Christian gave her a small smile and tilted his head slightly.

"You never talk about it, being undercover."

"It was a long time ago." _Lie, you're lying to him. _

"We both know that doesn't matter. It still haunts you" Christian stated with understanding evident in his green-blue eyes as they gazed into Emily's dark brown ones. "If you ever want to talk about it though…you know."

Emily took a deep breath as she put down her wine glass, "I know."

Christian gave Emily a genuine smile before leaning forward to bring her into an intimate sensual kiss. Almost instinctually, Emily leaned back against the sofa as Christian hovered his body over hers while she brought her legs around him, messaging the base of his neck with her hands. As their tongues collided, Christian teasingly moved his hand up her abdomen under her shirt before Emily pulled away, her breathing heavy as she spoke up. "We can't do this. I can't do this with Henry here."

"Fuck" Christian groaned as he moved off her before briefly stopping, "I know JJ and her boyfriend haven't taken a fucking vow of celibacy. What's the big deal?"

"It's just weird Christian. I just can't with someone's child sleeping in the other room. What if he hears us? Just until tomorrow, okay?"

Christian ran his hands through his hair agitatedly, "It's been a month and I'm going fucking insane here."

Emily bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath, "So you haven't?"

"Haven't what?" Christian asked in a voice tinged with confusion and frustration.

"We never talked about exclusivity, you haven't been seeing anyone else for…"

Christian shook his head with as a small smile crept across his face, "No Emily I'm not fucking anyone else on the side if that is what you are wondering. Technically I'm not even having sex with you which is wicked annoying."

"Oh" Emily simply replied as she looked down at her nails, longing to pick at them. She knew that Christian liked her, he called her almost everyday, it wouldn't take a profiler to figure out that he had some sort of feelings towards her. But this was different. This was commitment. He was committed to her and only her, and that scared her. But it also excited her, that this, whatever she had with the man in front of her was real. It was a legitimate relationship.

"Why would you even think that? Listen, I'll admit that I haven't been in a lot of relationships since college and, yeah, maybe I fucked around but I'm not a cheater. I can keep my dick in my pants when I'm away from you" he firmly stated as she rolled her eyes at his terminology. Christian Cavanagh was most definitely not the most eloquent man on the planet. Nevertheless, Emily liked that about him. She like that he was brutally honest, that he never played games with her. "When I said I liked you I meant it and I thought it was implied that I wasn't going to be sleeping around" he clarified as he took a deep breath, laughing as he exhaled. "Which is why you're driving me fucking crazy."

Emily laughed at his bluntness, "Remember when you said I could call you out for being a whiny little bitch?'

"Yeah?"

"You're being one now" Emily informed him with a chuckle as he pouted with his arms crossed. "So what are we doing tomorrow? The team will probably want to meet you for drinks…" Emily trailed off before Christian groaned.

"Emily I want to see you, that's what I'm here for."

"I know" Emily softly said as she tried to placate the man. "But they're like my family and they want to feel you out. Okay? Tomorrow you can just hang out around here…"

"I'm not going to wear pants" Christian interjected.

Emily rolled her eyes at the threat, "Fine don't were pants, I don't care."

"I need to do some paperwork anyway so I can just do that."

"Okay, as I was saying, tomorrow you hang out here and I'll call you and we can do lunch. We'll hang out for a while when I get home from work and then get drinks over with the team. Saturday we can do whatever disaster you've planned…"

"Hey" Christian interrupted as Emily grinned.

"And then Sunday morning you're going back into exile" she quipped.

"Fine" he agreed as he cracked his back and yawned. "Can I have a blanket or something?"

Emily ran her hands through her hair before answering him, "You can sleep with me _if _you promise that you won't be a pervert."

"You take the fun out of everything" Christian complained as he picked up his brown leather weekender bag and followed her into her room. After showering, separately much to Christian's dismay, the two finally drifted off to sleep as Sergio continuously tried to attack Christian's feet under the covers. "This cat is a fucking nightmare" he mumbled into the pillow.

"He lives here, you don't" Emily replied, a slight smile forming as she heard Christian complaining under his breath before he fell asleep again.

* * *

"So Henry said he made a new friend" JJ remarked to Emily, who was making her 10am cup of green tea.

Emily shook her head at the comment, "I'm sorry about that…"

"No I'm sorry" JJ apologetically interrupted. "I would have never let you take him if I had known Christian was here. Why didn't you tell me?"

"He wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow" Emily shrugged. "He said he told everyone that he had the bird flu" the brunette added as both women started laughing.

"Did he really?"

"Who knows, when it comes to Christian anything is possible. He probably just took a personal day."

"So what is he doing today?" JJ asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Paperwork, it's all he's doing now before they put him on a new case. We were going to do lunch today, but I have a ton of consults to do so I don't have to work this weekend" Emily said with a sigh as she walked towards her desk, with JJ following close behind.

"Well Henry loved him. Thank him by the way because now he is obsessed with Notre Dame and the Red Sox" JJ sarcastically stated as Morgan overheard the conversation.

"Red Sox? I see lover boy is in town" he teased as Emily rolled her eyes. "I need to meet this guy Princess, make sure he's good enough for you."

"He's not" Emily quipped as JJ chuckled.

Morgan leaned back in his chair as he studied his partner, "Tonight we're going for a few drinks."

"Come on Morgan they never get to see each other. Let them have their alone time" JJ argued, winking at Emily.

"Have you told baby girl that he's in town? Because if not she's going to be pissed" Morgan threatened and he took out his phone to text Garcia.

Emily glared at the man before offering him a warning, "Morgan I swear to God if you tell her..."

"Let me have a little talk to him them."

"No, I'm not fourteen and you're not my father. I can sleep with who I want without your permission thank you very much" Emily shot back as Morgan's face sunk before getting an evil grin.

"Well if you want to play it that way Prentiss" Morgan commented as he sent the text to Garcia while Emily and JJ shared a look and cringed simultaneously.

"You need to diffuse the bomb" JJ advised as Emily rubbed her temples and turned her attention to Morgan who was grinning.

"I fucking hate you so much right now" she informed him with a scowl before her and JJ walked towards Garcia's office.

"I see Boston boy is rubbing off on you" Morgan called after them as he returned to his paperwork, dumping a few files on Reid's desk.

* * *

"GUMDROP YOU LITTLE MINX!" The duo heard in the distance as they neared Garcia's office door. After giving a warning knock and walking into the office, Emily almost ran into the technical analyst who had her hands on her hips as she began, "How long have you been hiding sinfully delicious from me?"

"He just came into town last night" Emily answered before raising her hand to stop Garcia from speaking up, "And it was a surprise so I didn't even know about it."

"And you had Henry. How was that?"

Emily chuckled at the question, "He thought Henry was mine and I think he kind of freaked out over it."

"But he liked Henry right?" JJ asked, completely invested in the answer. How could anyone not adore her son?

"Yeah he did, but, you know, it's not like Christian is exactly child friendly. Anyway how was your night?" Emily questioned as Garcia turned her attention away from the brunette towards the other profiler.

"Yeah blondie, let's hope that at least one of you got some last night."

"Uh" JJ answered looking somewhat embarrassed. "It didn't exactly work out as planned, and Emily I am so sorry for messing up your night for nothing."

Emily waved her off, "Don't worry about it. Christian hates you but who cares what he thinks" she cracked as the group of women started laughing. "I'm just sorry you didn't have the night you planned…"

"Well I did" Garcia interrupted with a wide grin. "And by the way Gumdrop, since you actually have a sex life now I was wondering if you wanted to share some tips. For example, have you ever tried Forrest Gumping?"

"Oh God please do not finish that thought" Emily pleaded with a horrified look on her face as she looked over to JJ who was also trying not to look at Garcia, hoping that no eye contact would convey that they did not want to know whatever Forrest Gumping was.

"It's this thing where you get a ping-pong paddle and…"

"Please no" Emily begged as she and JJ both covered their ears and closed their eyes, prompting Garcia to sulk.

"Fine" Garcia huffed as she sat back at her desk, "but I want to meet him for drinks tonight. Deal?"

"I'll give you two hours" Emily relented as she left the office. This was going to be an absolute disaster, she just knew it.

After getting a few more consults done, Emily noticed that her phone was ringing and immediately knew who it was. She was already with the only other people who ever called her, so by process of elimination she knew it was Christian.

"Hey Tonto" Christian greeted as he relaxed on Emily's living room sofa, watching TV with Sergio.

"Nope, that one is terrible too" Emily replied with a smirk as she heard his newest nickname for her. "So what are you doing?"

"Watching ESPN Classics and they are actually airing Super Bowl XXXVI!" Christian responded in an excited voice. "It's vintage Tom Brady, Emily. Say whatever you want about Belichick, yeah he's kind of a prick and he can't draft fucking defense for shit but Tom Brady. Tom Brady is like the fucking Messiah…" he ranted as Emily started laughing.

"So paperwork?"

"Yeah I didn't do any yet" he admitted with a sigh. "So what's the damage?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean" Christian challenged as he started petting Sergio, "Do we have to go tonight?"

"Just JJ and Garcia…"

"The wizard?"

"Oracle" Emily corrected as she scanned the empty bullpen. "Okay and Morgan will probably come too…and probably Reid for a little while."

Christian groaned on the other end of the line, "You should be grateful that I'm so desperate to fuck you because otherwise I would not be so cooperative."

"Oh I am just so grateful" Emily replied in a sarcastically tone that made Christian laugh. "Just watch your stupid Tom Brady crap and let me go back to work" she ordered with a small smile as she hung up the phone.

**A group interrogation and a certain someone's reappearance occurs in the next chapter. **

**Does anyone have any predictions about the second case yet? Who does it involve?**

**Typically I never update on Saturdays, but the responses have been so great that you've compelled me to break my rule. Thanks for all of the reviews and please continue leaving them. **


	18. This Broad is Wicked Shattered

Providence, Rhode Island

The man in the blue baseball cap sat on a small reading chair in the corner of a dark bedroom, casually sipping a nearly empty two liter bottle of soda as he waited. After a few hours of waiting, a bald overweight man in his early 60's walked into the room, unaware of who was sitting in the corner, waiting for him to arrive.

"Lorraine's dead Tony" the man in the blue baseball cap remarked in calm voice as the other man turned around to face him.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"The guy who just murdered your fucking whore" the man in the blue baseball cap answered as he finished the rest of the soda. "You know how long it's been since I had a fucking tonic?" He nonchalantly asked as Tony clenched his jaw. "Six and a half fucking years."

"What do you want?" Tony inquired as the man in the blue baseball cap lined the opening of the empty soda bottle with the barrel of his gun and pulled the trigger, shooting the older man in the chest.

"Do you know that history of Providence, Tony?" the man asked as he walked to stand over Tony, who was struggling to breathe. "It was founded by a man who was exiled from Massachusetts. It figures doesn't it? Isn't everyone that winds up in fucking Providence in exile from something?" He chuckled before continuing on, "The exiled man named it Providence because of the idea of Divine Providence, God's will always brings about what he plans. But you know what I think? I think we make our own destiny, that we bring about what we want. And what I want is to kill you, and then kill that Irish lace-curtain fucker" he concluded as he shot Tony again.

* * *

"This is going to fucking suck" Christian groaned as he and Emily walked into the bar that Garcia and Morgan had picked. An especially relaxed looking Emily was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a black sleeveless shirt with a leather jacket over it and a pair of black ankle boots. Christian, on the hand, was dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a red henley shirt with the sleeved pushed up towards his elbows and the top button undone, revealing a black undershirt.

"Oh my god you two look so hot!" Garcia shrieked as the two approached the table where she, JJ, Morgan, and Reid were already sitting. "Seriously Emster, you could turn me tonight!" Garcia added with a loud purr.

"Thanks?" Emily replied as Christian winked at her.

"So Cavanagh, how long you here for?" Morgan asked as he took a drink of his beer.

"Until Sunday morning" Christian answered as he ordered a Bud Light from a young waitress who was making her way around the crowded bar.

"Bud Light?" Garcia asked with a gag. "So gross, why don't you have a Sex on the Beach with me?" She questioned with an exaggerated wink.

"Because I'm from Boston, not a member of the fucking Real Housewives of who gives a shit" Christian replied as Morgan and Garcia laughed and slammed the rest of their drinks.

"We're drinking every time you say 'fuck'" Morgan clarified as Christian laughed.

"Well then you're going to get wicked hammered tonight" he warned as he pulled out the chair for Emily.

"So sinfully delicious" Garcia addressed him as he turned to face her.

"Is that supposed to be me?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Garcia challenged as Christian shook his head with a smile.

"No, I find it to be pretty accurate actually" he smugly replied as he grinned at Emily, who just scoffed in response.

Morgan flashed a smile towards Emily and refocused on the new man, "Age?"

"29."

"Cougar" Morgan coughed as Emily kicked him under the table.

"We're the same age!" Reid added excitedly with a smile.

"Yeah?" Christian asked as he propped his elbow on the table and rested his head against his fist.

"Stop talking about age, I'm starting to feel old" Emily groaned as the rest of the group laughed.

JJ shot Emily an apologetical smile when she noticed Garcia turn her attention back to the snarky police Lieutenant, "So hot stuff, where did you grow up?"

"I know you already searched me so why the fuck are you still asking?" Christian questioned in a playful voice. "Boston, South End, the nice part" he sarcastically stated as Reid looked perplexed.

"Actually the South End of Boston is known for…" he began as JJ poked him in the shoulder. "Being great" he tried to cover as Christian rolled his eyes.

"Stop interrupting my interrogation you buffoons" Garcia ordered as she continued on in her questioning, "Favorite band?"

"The Stones."

"Favorite Movie?"

"Pulp Fiction. Fuck, I would give anything to be Samuel L. Jackson in that movie" Christian admitted as Morgan and Garcia started downing another drink.

"Have you ever been married?"

Christian scoffed at the question, "No."

"Soo, are you two going steady?" Garcia asked as Emily and Christian both rolled their eyes.

"Going steady? What is this fucking 1952? Am I giving her father a fucking ox in exchange for her?" Christian asked as the entire table started laughing.

"I am worth way more than an ox Cavanagh" Emily insisted as she hit him on the arm.

Reid cleared his throat as he cut into the conversation, "Well actually Emily, per South African tradition you could be purchased for the normal going rate of a herd of sheep. However, considering the amount of child-bearing years…"

"Shut up Reid!" The team yelled to the genius.

"Where the fuck did this kid come from, Goose?" Christian whispered to Emily who just stared at him, the team intently watching their interaction. They had never seen Emily with a boyfriend before and this was an extremely interesting event for them to witness.

Christian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, which prompted Garcia to whisper to JJ, "Holy muscle definition batman, meow."

JJ just laughed at the other woman's antics as she watched Emily give Christian a questioning look. "Goose?"

"Well I'm obviously Maverick"

Emily waved him off, "Please, you've seen me in aviators, I am so Maverick. You're Goose."

"I don't want to be Goose" he whined into his beer as the team snickered at him until Garcia redirected the conversation once again.

"What are your intentions with our Emily?"

"My intentions with _your_ Emily? What is this fucking Little House on the Prairie?" He asked incredulously as Garcia and Morgan drank again. "Is she Laura Ingalls or the blind one?"

Emily smirked, "If I'm dating you then I'm obviously the blind one…and deaf too."

"The blind one" JJ giggled as she repeated what Christian had said earlier. "So you've read the books?"

"Shut up" Christian snapped as Emily and JJ erupted into a fit of laughter.

"We just need to know that you're not going to hurt her" Morgan added with a stern look. "Are you?"

"Never, not intentionally" he sincerely replied as he gazed over to Emily who blushed.

Garcia and Morgan shared a look and nodded, prompting Emily to glare at them. This was a little insulting, she didn't need protecting. But they were her family and that is what families did, they embarrassed you. "And how are you going to remain faithful to her while she's away?" Garcia inquired.

"GARCIA!" Emily scolded as Christian shook his head.

"Are you asking me if I suffer from wandering dick syndrome?" Christian asked as Emily blushed profusely again. "Because I don't."

"Good" Morgan threatened as he cracked his knuckles, making Christian laugh. It wasn't the reaction the older man was anticipating, which made JJ and Emily giggle to themselves.

"Favorite President?" Reid questioned as Christian looked over to Emily who just shrugged. They figured that Reid didn't really understand how interrogating a friend's boyfriend normally worked.

"JFK, may he rest in peace" Christian answered firmly. "He fucked…"

"Drink" Garcia and Morgan interrupted as Emily and JJ chuckled. Those two were definitely going to get 'wicked hammered' before the night was over.

"Marilyn Monroe" Christian continued, "And Jackie Kennedy, and still managed to stop a nuclear war. And he looked damn good doing it" he added as the group started laughing again. "What? Be honest if JFK came up to you right now, in his prime, would you not want to fuck him?"

"Well…" Reid drifted off as the team looked at him in shock. "I was going to say 'no.'"

"I would" Garcia stated in a matter of fact tone shifting around in her chair and almost falling over before Morgan caught her, making the team laugh at her misfortune.

JJ cut into the laughter next, "So thanks a lot Christian. I'm trying to raise a Redskins fan and you turn my son into a Red Sox maniac."

"Redskins? What are you teaching that poor kid? He deserves better than the fucking Redskins. When was the last time they had a decent quarterback. Fucking Joe Theismann?" He teased as the drinking game continued.

"Shut up."

"Well at least you hate fucking Eli Manning too."

"Ugh, Manning sucks" JJ agreed as Reid and Emily shared a look. Morgan and Garcia were already too plastered to care about the conversation and Reid and Emily both felt completely out of their element during sports talks.

"Yeah, it's like he beats Brady twice and he's the fucking Apostle Paul. Eli Manning can go fuck himself. Not to mention that Tom Brady is married to Gisele. Who the fuck is Manning married to? A fucking piece of marble rye?" Christian exclaimed as Emily rolled her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him with a lopsided grin. "A piece of marble rye?"

Christian just shook his head as Garcia spoke up again, already a little, okay more than a little, tipsy from the drinking game. "I have two questions for you my golden God. Who was the first girl you slept with and is Gumdrop good in bed?"

"Garcia!"

"What?" Garcia dumbly asked Emily over a hiccup.

"We are not talking about anything related to our sex life" Emily ordered with a glare. "And you" She continued as she pointed to a grinning Christian, "Don't say a word."

"Fine" Garcia pouted as she drunkenly pointed to Christian, "Is this an issue? Here I have some advice for you, it called the Flying Dutchman. How do you feel about eye patches? But wait, no matter how much you want to try it, don't get the hook hand. It makes things go downhill real fast…" she trailed off as the group shuddered.

"Oh my God" Emily gasped as she downed her drink. "I'm going to have nightmares for weeks."

"Don't be such a prude my young Gumdrop" Garcia instructed as she scanned the table, forgetting where Christian was sitting, "I order you to dance with me. Hold me closer tiny dancer!"

"Fuck no" Christian answered as Garcia searched the table for another available drink. "I know you, I know what you do with your life. You're going to try to grope me and only Emily can do that" he remarked as Emily choked on her beer.

"Christian!" She chided as she hit him on the chest. "Do not tell them that!"

"What? You're the one who suggested that I get 'property of Emily Prentiss' tattooed on my..." he began as Emily put her hand over his mouth.

"Emily you naughty girl" JJ teased. "By the way, why were you so late?" Christian winked over to JJ as Emily tried to stop herself from blushing, causing Garcia to clap enthusiastically.

"You all have issues" Emily complained into her drink after giving Christian another warning look.

"But you never told us why were you late Emily" Reid added as Christian tilted his head in confusion and looked over at Emily, mouthing 'what the fuck?'

"Drink!" Garcia ordered as Christian rolled his eyes. "And what those two sexy bitches did, boy genius, is what we grown ups call the horizontal monster mash" Garcia stated, making Reid choke on his cranberry juice and Morgan snicker.

"Baby girl no one calls it that."

"Oh, am I a 'no one' now Derek?" Garcia slurred in an angry voice as Christian erupted into a fit of laughter.

"This broad is wicked shattered" he giggled to Emily who just shrugged to a laughing JJ.

Emily had to admit that his Christian-isms were growing on her. JJ just smiled as she watched her best friend seeming so content with the man. He was funny, oddly charming, and he held his own with the group. To her he seemed like a keeper. While Christian and Morgan were in a heated debate over Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, JJ discretely gave Emily a thumbs up, which made the brunette shake her head and smile.

The team was already starting to fall in love him, and the terrifying truth was that maybe a part of her was starting to fall for him too.

**Does a double update day help a wicked hangover? Should we try it? **

**Let me know in the reviews section.**

**The next chapter is the last lighter one before things get a bit more dramatic and Emily goes full badass Agent Prentiss on a case…**


	19. King of Kings

**Double update day.**

**Also, as a heads up, after this chapter we are going to do a time jump before things get crazy. **

It was around 9am the next morning when Christian and Emily started to stir. Well technically Emily started stirring first, which woke up Sergio, who had somehow made his way into the bed and, in turn, stepped on Christian's stomach to leave. Needless to say it wasn't the most pleasant way to get up and Christian was starting to hate that cat with a passion.

"So are you going to let me borrow your car?" Christian asked Emily, as she rested her head on his bare chest, her arm draped over his body as she curled into him.

"No" she scoffed at the question as she shuffled around to better face him. "You're a terrible driver."

"In your opinion" Christian huffed with a small scowl. "Which by the way means like next to nothing."

"Oh really?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah really, what do you know about driving anyway? Are you fucking Steve McQueen now?"

"I know that you're a horrible driver and you'll have to pry the keys out of my cold dead hands" she stated in a matter of fact tone as she leaned her body back against his. "Now, you can keep rubbing my arm, that felt good" she offered with a smirk.

"What am I? Your fucking slave boy?"

"There are worse jobs to have" she responded with a laugh as he shook his head.

"You're fucking certifiable. Anyway master…master? Mastress? Mistress?" Christian question as Emily smacked his arm.

"Don't ever call me a mistress again" she threatened as he chuckled.

"Fine" he agreed as he started to gently run his fingers up and down her arm again, "So Driving Miss Daisy, when did you want to leave for our date?"

Emily rolled her eyes at the nickname, "First of all, I know you want to keep this a big surprise and I get it, I really do. I really appreciate that you went through the effort to plan something, but you have to give me an idea of what we're doing so I know what to wear. Second point, since I will be the one driving you do realize that makes you Miss Daisy right? It's called Driving Miss Daisy, I am driving you, therefore in this scenario you my friend are Miss Daisy. Which makes me Morgan Freeman and you Jessica Tandy" Emily informed him with a lopsided grin as his face sunk.

"I will admit, I did not think that one through."

"No you did not" she teased with a laugh as he kissed the top of her head.

"You have really nice hair."

"Thanks."

"And?" Christian asked, searching for a compliment.

"I've also been told that I also have beautiful eyes" she added with a grin as he started laughing.

"You do, and what about me?"

"Eh, you're okay I guess" she shrugged. "I mean, could I do worse? Probably. But could I do better? Definitely."

Christian laughed at the insult, "You're very mean in the morning, which is really saying something because you're always mean to me."

"And you love it" Emily challenged as she gazed into his bright eyes, his hair was especially messy and his smile betrayed any performance of mock anger at her statement. Christian scratched his chin to try to hide a smile and Emily took that as enough of a reply. "So what are we doing?"

"Dress athletically, maybe dungarees" he informed her with an evil grin. That was the only detail he was going to give her.

"Dungarees? You mean jeans? What are you a ninety year old woman?"

"I can be whatever you want me to be" he whispered seductively into her ear as she started laughing while he got out of the bed and headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. "I told you to stop buying this gourmet beans-I have a yoga instructor-NPR bullshit and just go to fucking Dunkies!" He yelled from the kitchen as she rubbed her eyes. They hadn't slept much the night before and she was exhausted, but in the best possible way.

"And I told you that I'm not a savage!" Emily yelled back with a smile as she heard him grumbling.

* * *

"Please tell me we're lost" Emily pleaded as she turned to a grinning Christian. The two were currently sitting in Emily's car, in a parking lot for an establishment that Emily never pictured herself frequenting.

"It'll be fun" he argued with a smirk.

"I'm not twelve" she shot back with a frown.

"Emily, the last time we talked on the phone you sounded really stressed after that case with Garcia and this is a great way to decompress. Will you just trust me? Batting cages, I mean come on, it's wicked pissa!"

"English please" Emily requested as she followed Christian out of the car.

"I'm going to teach you, you'll have fun. We both know you have great fucking reflexes and you'll learn quick. Did you ever play softball as a kid?" Christian asked as they walked towards the front counter and picked up their helmets and baseball bats.

"I wasn't into sports, except riding" Emily answered. "See we should have gone horseback riding."

"Uh, I would prefer you didn't. It's dangerous, what if you fell and hurt yourself? That would be..." Christian drifted off as he clenched his jaw anxiously before Emily put together what he meant after temporally forgetting that Christian's mother had died in a horse riding accident.

"Oh God Christian, I'm, God I'm sorry" she awkwardly said as he gave her a small smile.

"It's fine Emily" he reassured her as he gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Now put on your helmet…"

"What if I get lice?" Emily interjected as she crossed her arms defiantly.

"What? Now you're too good for lice too? What a snob" He replied sarcastically with a smirk.

"Shut up" she ordered playfully as she hit him in the side with her helmet before putting it on as he motioned for her to begin. "No way, you're starting."

"Are you sure? Are you going to be able to control yourself after you see me in action? Because Emily there are children around" he cracked as she swatted him away.

"Just try not to get your face ruined by one of those baseballs."

"Or what? You'll dump me?"

Emily nodded in reply to the inquiry, "Oh without a doubt. What else do you have going for you?"

"How about my delightful personality?"

"Delightful for who?"

"Me" Christian answered with a grin as he walked into the batting cage, prompting Emily to chuckle.

As she watched him, Emily had to admit that Christian was an exceptional baseball player. He had a natural ability that she couldn't help but find attractive. He was in his element, which prompted her to think back to when they met on the case. She had yet to see Christian's professional work, but he had seen hers and was drawn to her ever since. That's what she genuinely appreciated about him. Despite not truly being able to comprehend what she did, Christian was supportive about her work. He knew how important it was to her, and he had seen how proficient in it she was. Emily was shaken from her thoughts a few minutes later as Christian exited the cage and nodded at her.

"Your turn Prentiss" he remarked as he motioned towards the open gate.

Emily stepped into the batting cage with Christian following right behind her, garnering her attention as she turned around to face him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help you work on your form before I start the machine" he winked as she rolled her eyes.

"Get out of here perv" Emily ordered as she pushed him out of the cage and closed the gate in his face.

"Fine" he relented as he watched her.

To her surprise, Emily hit most of the baseballs, only a missing a few of the pitches.

"You're very good" Christian complimented as Emily walked out of the batting cage with a confident stride.

"They tell me that about a lot of things Miss Daisy" she whispered into his ear with a husky voice as he rolled his eyes.

"You're very cocky."

"I'm confident, do you doubt my skills Cavanagh?"

"Of course not" he answered with a smile. "But for you to be a real honorary Sox player you have to say one thing."

Emily scanned the batting cage before turning her attention back to him, "And what is that?"

"You have to say a variation of 'the Yankees fucking suck.' However, 'Fuck Jeter' or 'A-Rod can go fuck himself' are also an acceptable responses" he ordered as she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I am so not doing that."

Christian stretched out his back and insisted in a firm voice, "Come on Emily."

"No" Emily adamantly replied.

"And after all I've done for you?" Christian inquired, trying to guilt her but ending up just making her laugh instead.

"Yeah you really put yourself out here Cavanagh" Emily commented sarcastically as Christian bit his bottom lip and sulked. "Fine, Yankees suck" Emily uttered unenthusiastically as Christian's hands cupped her cheeks and pulled her into a kiss.

"You are officially the greatest girlfriend I've ever had…"

"Oh like I had any competition for that title" Emily interrupted.

Christian leaned against the batting cage and smirked, "Well there was this one girl I hooked up with from a Bennigans…"

"Shut up" she playfully scolded. "So what next?"

"You want some ice cream?"

"For the last time I am not a child."

"Fine, I won't you buy you ice cream" Christian shrugged as he picked up the baseball bats and helmets.

"Well let's not be rash" Emily spoke up as Christian started laughing.

* * *

Emily and Christian had spent the remainder of the afternoon touring Washington D.C. until eventually stopping to spend some time in Farragut Square. It was mid-September so D.C. was still a little humid, but tolerable. The couple was sitting on a bench near the edge of the square, watching a pigeon interact with a squirrel while idly chatting about plans for Christian's next visit.

"You need to see the Cherry Blossoms" Emily mentioned in a side comment as she tucked into the chocolate ice cream cone Christian had bought her.

"When is that?"

"April?"

Christian smirked, "That's like eight months away, are you implying that you still want me around in eight months?"

Emily blushed at the slip. "No" she claimed in an embarrassed tone as Christian started laughing.

"Are you finally coming to peace with the fact that I'm a fucking A-1 catch?"

"Oh yeah definitely, you have no flaws" Emily countered in a sarcastic voice as Christian rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty perfect."

"You're confident, I'll give you that" Emily conceded with a smirk. "So why did you take me to the batting cages? Are you that cheap?"

Christian chuckled at the question, "You sounded stressed on the phone and I just wanted to help you in some way. You have a really hard job and you deserved to just have some mindless fun. Any asshole could take you to a fucking museum and brunch, but this asshole wanted you to actually have a good time and I thought that this would make sure of that. Plus you seem competitive and it was fun being completely superior to you" he joked as Emily playfully smacked him on the leg. "Now tell me you didn't have fun."

"I had fun" Emily admitted.

"That's what I thought" Christian replied with a smug look.

"And I will agree that you are a decent player, but I wondering something…" Emily began as Christian motioned for her to continue. "Why didn't you go to law school?"

"Why don't you just psychoanalyze me to get your answer?" Christian challenged with a small smile.

Emily tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, "Do you want me to?"

"Fuck no" Christian admitted with a laugh. "Why did I become a cop? Well most people think it's because my father way murdered but that isn't it."

"Really?"

"Nope" he reiterated before briefly looking to his watch. He didn't want them to run out of time before their dinner reservation. "I always knew I wanted to try to make a difference, as fucking cliché as it sounds. My mom ran a non-profit for battered women so I guess I just always assumed I'd do something like that. So my freshman year at Notre Dame I decided that I was going to be a prosecutor." Emily couldn't help but laugh at the statement. "What?"

"It's just, you hate prosecutors" she chuckled as Christian shook his head in disbelief.

"You're ruining my fucking story Prentiss. Anyway, I majored in English with an emphasis on pre-law, I applied to law school and then I scored an internship my senior year working for this South Bend ADA. However, no one told me that an internship really means that you just fetch those lazy bastards coffee and pick up their fucking dry cleaning" Christian ranted as Emily started chuckling. "Well, finally, one day the prick lets me observe him in the interrogation room when he's making a deal with some convict. The police had picked up this guy for molesting a little girl and they had found child pornography on his computer. It was fucking disgusting, but the DA wanted to bust the guys making and distributing the porn. They were the bigger arrest, you know? It would have looked better politically. They gave the guy fucking six months in prison and three years of probation, that's it. That's all he got. Yeah he was a registered sex offender, but we both know that doesn't mean shit" Christian said in a defeated tone as he shook his head and took a deep breath. "It's what we have to do as cops, we rely on those kind of deals to make big arrests and I get that. But I just cannot be the guy that makes those deals" he admitted as Emily nodded in agreement. "That's why I became a cop, and that's why I believe in what I do. Fuck, maybe a shit-head DA is going to convict them, maybe not, but either way I'm going to arrest them."

"Yeah" Emily agreed with a sigh as a few moments of silence passed. "So I had fun" she added in a jovial tone trying to lighten the mood.

"I know you had fun because I'm…"

"Jack Kennedy-level charming" Emily filled in with an eye roll. "You think very highly of yourself."

"You think highly of me too" Christian countered as Emily rolled her eyes again.

"Sure" she replied sarcastically as they walked towards her apartment.

* * *

The rest of the weekend had been extremely pleasant and relaxing. Christian had picked a great French restaurant in Georgetown to go to and the two had just enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the night as well as the next morning. However, all good things have to come to an end and the weekend was no exception.

"I don't want to go back to that backwoods cousin-fucking hell hole" Christian groaned as Emily pulled up to departure terminal at Dulles.

"You're such a cry baby."

"You don't have to live there" he challenged.

Emily chuckled at the claim, "And I'm sure they're just thrilled to have you in return. You know, since your such a pleasure."

"Oh we both we know that I am a fucking pleasure" Christian shot back smugly.

"You'll be back next week right?" Emily asked as Christian smiled. Even though she would adamantly argue against it, he knew that she liked having him around. He knew that he was special to her. It wasn't a matter of him being overconfident, it was simply the truth.

"Yeah I'll be here" he reaffirmed as he leaned over to pull Emily into a slow goodbye kiss, his hands gently caressing her face as her hand rested on his forearm. After the need for air became an issue, the two reluctantly pulled away, with Christian resting his forehead against hers. "I'll bring chocolate instead of Alligator jerky next time."

"In that case I'll actually pick you up from the airport" Emily teased with a grin as Christian rolled his eyes. "Call me whenever" she offered with a genuine smile which was returned by Christian.

Christian sighed as he opened the car door and grabbed his bags, "Be good while I'm gone."

"Never" Emily retorted with a smirk as he shook his head and walked away.

* * *

_7 Years Prior_

_"Why did you give this to me?"_

_"Did you read it?"_

_"It's a poem."_

_"Read it again."_

_"Read to me, p__lease. I don't understand what it means. I don't understand why you sent it to me."_

_"Yes you do."_

_"No Jack, I really __don't."_

_"Darby, I'm trying to protect you."_

_"Then explain to me what it means. Please…"_

_"'I met a traveller from an antique land  
Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone  
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,  
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,  
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,  
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read  
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,  
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:  
And on the pedestal these words appear:  
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:  
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'  
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay  
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare  
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'"_

_"See, what is that even supposed to mean?"_

_"It means that all great kingdoms eventually come to ruin. It means that you need to get away from your father before everything turns to shit. And stay away from your fuck up of a brother too, unless you want to be ruined with them. You're better than this…you need to get out now."_

_"And you?"_

_"What about me?"_

_"Are you getting out?"_

_"Just think about what I said."_

**What is ****the significance of the '7 Years' flashback? I will tell you this, it relates back to the man in the blue baseball cap but doesn't directly involve him.**

**By the way, the sonnet read in the flashback is Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and it refers to the great mystery of this work. I read it freshman year of college and it's really fitting for this story.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed the lighter chapters, because it's about to get dark again. Does anyone have any theories on how this is going to play out? How do the flashbacks from seven years ago fit in? What impact will the man in the blue baseball cap have?**

**I will give you a hint, 'Jackie/Jack' is not anyone we have ever seen on the show before...**


	20. The Devil Knows

**First of all, I apologize for the lack of mature scenes in the previous chapters. The primary reason I didn't write any was because they would have taken away from the time I wanted to devote on characterization. Anyway, in case any readers are wondering, there will probably be ONE more "scene" in this work. But I'm not willing to reveal the circumstances of it just yet (don't worry it's not a sexual assault scene). **

**Like I warned in the past chapter, there is a significant time jump in this chapter and it takes place in the ****season 7 episode, Unknown Subject. **

**Additionally,**** this is a long chapter but I didn't think splitting it into two chapters would work. As a result, a lot happens so prepare yourself. I did warn everyone that there was going to be a lot of upcoming drama...**

Emily and Christian had been seeing each other for about sevens months and were for all intents and purposes happy with the progression of their relationship. They had developed a pattern, they would talk every night on the phone and Christian would fly out most weekends to spend a few days of Emily. It was a seemingly prefect relationship to Emily, a sense of closeness with just enough space to hide. She had just enough space to conceal her therapy sessions, and just enough distance to keep the truth about Doyle from Christian, amongst other things. The fact was that Emily shared almost everything with Christian, the emphasis on 'almost.' She had yet to share her secret abortion or talk about Doyle with him, but she felt that was irrelevant. It didn't seem to affect their happiness so why bother bringing up something so painful? Emily had told Christian that her scar was from being stabbed by an unsub on a case. It was necessarily a lie, but she felt extremely guilty nonetheless. Mainly she felt guilty because her deception had forever tainted a moment that she had grown to cherish.

_3 Months Earlier_

_Emily and Christian were relaxing in Emily's bed as the sunlight crept through the curtains, slightly brightening the __shadowy room. Christian turned on to his side to face Emily, propping his body up on an elbow. "I didn't notice it, but you did" he cryptically said, but she knew exactly where he was headed with this._

_"What do you mean?" Emily asked as she tried to feign ignorance, biting her bottom lip nervously._

_"The first night, I touched you and you kind of freaked out. You never explained why…" he drifted off as he scanned her tense body. "Never mind, you don't have to…it's fine" he covered for her as he rolled on to his back, staring up the ceiling as silence filled the large bedroom. "You know what?" He asked a few minutes later. "I don't do this. I don't fucking fly across the country to see a woman. __This is not me. I don't care about people's stories. I could give a shit about people's pasts and their fucking feelings. I'm an asshole who acts like an asshole and pretty girls want to fuck me and try to change me and eventually walk away when I don't. And you? You could give a shit and you changed me. You make me want something that is actually real. Fuck, I don't know what I'm doing here. I have no idea and you're fucking impossible, you're a snarky fucking nightmare…"_

_"Thanks" Emily interjected sarcastically. _

_"You are, tell me right now that you aren't" he ordered as he took her silence as a reply. "And I should not care that you don't want to tell me anything. I shouldn't and if it were anyone else I wouldn't, but I do because, fuck, I think I love you. No, I know that I'm in love with you and that's why I'm not going to bother you about this because I love you. But I need you to know that no matter what happened, no matter how bad it may seem to you, that's not going to change" he quietly said as Emily briefly closed her eyes._

_Emily took a deep breath before speaking up in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "You're such a girl."_

_"Fuck you" he teased._

_"But, I think, I could love you too."_

_Christian smiled at the confession before responding a few moments later, "Well that's just because I'm so goddamn lovable."_

_Emily laughed at the statement, "You are not even likable."_

_"But you like me."_

_"I've had a lot of head injuries" Emily shot back as a smile lit up her face. "So who knew that Christian Cavanagh was such a romantic?"_

_"What can I say? You're like a tick that's burrowed into my soul" he teased as Emily chuckled and playfully hit him before getting more serious. _

_"The scar is from, I was stabbed by an unsub on a case…it was traumatic."_

_"I would imagine" Christian agreed as he inhaled sharply, "I shouldn't have…"_

_"It's fine" Emily said as she cut him off. "I should have told you sooner."_

_"I should have told you sooner too."_

_"Told me what?" Emily questioned as she turned on her side to face the man. _

_"That I loved you" he answered as he scratched his jaw line.__  
_

_"Why didn't you?" __Christian shrugged in response, "When did you know?"_

_Christian sighed as he turned his body back to face hers, "It feels like forever. I don't even know where 'like' ended and 'love' began. You?"_

_"Right now" she told him with a smirk as he started laughing. _

_"Has anyone ever told you how fucking cold you are?"_

_"Yes" she replied as she brought her hand to back of his neck and pulled him for a soft kiss. "You" she whispered into his ear as they both started laughing again. _

* * *

"How was it?" JJ asked as Emily entered into the BAU for the team's regular morning briefing.

"Huh?" Emily absent-mindedly asked, thinking back to her final therapy session. _Mourn your own death? What a bunch of pyscho-babble bullshit. How can you mourn the death of someone who is still alive? Fucking therapists and there…oh my God, I am turning into Christian _Emily mused as she locked eyes with a curious JJ.

"Christian's latest visit? You know Christian Cavanagh, your hot, smart, snarky, Boston-bred boyfriend…" JJ trailed off with a sigh.

"Tell me more tell me more, like did he have a car?" Emily teased with an eye roll.

"Really, I didn't hear from you all weekend" the blonde replied with a knowing grin as Emily gave her a quick smile that didn't quite make it to her eyes, but being a Prentiss she was able to convince the newest profiler otherwise.

Emily ran her hands through her hair, "Oh it was fine. We got into a small argument about which cheeses are superior so there's that" she chuckled as she entered into the BAU conference room, taking a seat as Garcia began to brief the team.

"So Houston P.D. needs our boots on the ground for the Piano Man case…" the technical analyst began as Emily tried to focus on a case which details felt eerily similar to her experience with Doyle.

Emily was careful to convey through her participation in the team briefing that she was fine. She wasn't taken back to her time in the warehouse with Ian Doyle. Ian Doyle couldn't be further from her mind at the moment. This was solely about the Piano Man, that's all this was. Ian Doyle was dead, her personal life was uncomplicated, she was emotionally stable. She was fine. Emily Prentiss was completely fine. It was as simple as that. Why wouldn't it be? Yes, maybe what she had endured over the past year had been difficult at first, but people dealt with a lot worse. Hotch dealt with a lot worse and he was completely fine, right? Humans have the unique ability to bounce back after seemingly soul-crushing tragedies and she was no different.

But as she appeared to be completely unfazed to the rest of the team, her unit chief knew otherwise. Because he had been there before.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few states over and clad in a charcoal grey suit with a white Oxford shirt and black tie, Christian nervously bounced his leg up and down, tapping on the armrest of a chair in one of the long cold hallways of the Louisiana State Police Headquarters in Baton Rouge. He has yet to be assigned to a new undercover case in the seven months, not since Mikey had died and he had punched Detective Gates for calling Emily a bitch. For seven months he was assigned solely to paperwork and assisting other Lieutenants with their cases. He was sure he was going to be fired. They were going to let him go, he had pissed off too many people this time. But part of him was strangely relieved, because more and more he was leaning towards moving to D.C. And this would be the final push he needed. It wasn't like he and Emily were going to live in separate states forever right? And why the hell would she move to Vermilion Parrish? It would not only be career suicide, but they both would end up unhappy. Christian's internal ramblings were interrupted when the Lieutenant Colonel of the Louisiana State Police opened his door for Christian, who followed the older man through it.

The tall, thin, balding man who was known as Lieutenant Colonel Duke Hamilton sat across from Christian at a daunting oak desk in a large leather office chair, his white hair and wrinkles betraying any sense of youth he might have had in him. Just the body language and nature of the other man reaffirmed that he was the absolutely in control of the room. "Lieutenant Cavanagh, how are you?" He drawled in a heavy southern accent.

"Fine" Christian replied back in a firm voice.

"You're probably wondering why I had you travel all the way down to Baton Rouge" Christian merely nodded in reply as his superior further elaborated. "Do you know why I haven't had your Captain put you on any new cases lately?"

"I have a hunch" Christian admitted.

The older man smiled as he scanned the young man in front of him. "Captain Marquee is retiring, I've been looking for his replacement. And while I was someone managed to close a case we have been working on for twelve years, Rhoda and Dewitt Squire. You closed that case?"

"My undercover did."

"I always heard you were a cocky bastard, consider me disappointed."

"Officer Delahunt made our case…"

"And you made Delahunt, which is why you're here" Hamilton interrupted. "It's a waste to have you work one case when you should be supervising and helping on all of them. Now you've barely turned thirty, you're inexperienced in management, and you rub a lot of officers the wrong way so I will not officially be offering you the rank as Captain. However, I want you to head up the Criminal Intelligence Unit for the entire Troop I region directly under me. You will have to relocate to Lafayette and the hours will be tough at first. You'll get Captain Marquee's office" Hamilton offered with a nod.

Christian clutched the sides of his chair a little tighter at the sudden news. This was not at all what he was expecting, "Umm, can I think about it?"

"Think about it?" Hamilton asked incredulously. "What is there to think about?"

"I just, my personal life is a little complicated right now. My girlfriend lives in another state and the long distance thing is…"

Hamilton chuckled at the statement, "I don't care about your personal life, I care that you take this job and you do it well. So I expect you will. Have your Mrs. move down here, the South is good for women. It'll be good for her. You're dismissed" Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton concluded as Christian rose from the chair in a daze.

Christian should have been conflicted. He should have wanted to take the promotion, but he didn't. The offer didn't even warrant the discussion in his mind. It was clear that Hamilton was not going to allow him to just decline the position, but maybe transferring to D.C. would be a good thing. He liked the city a lot better than where he was living at the moment, and that wasn't even taking into account that he would be able to spend more time with Emily. Then again he would be turning down a promotion in Lafayette for a probably demotion in D.C. Christian sighed as he entered into his car, counting on the long drive back to Abbeville to be able to help clear his head.

* * *

After boarding the BAU jet, Emily was surprised to see that Hotch was the only one there. "Hey" she greeted as she approached her unit chief who was sitting alone, flipping though a case file.

"Hey" he replied back as he put down his files to make eye contact with her.

"I'm sorry. I thought you said 10:30" Emily questioned as she looked at her watch as she sat across from Hotch. It would have been weird to sit anywhere else in the empty plane right? This is what he expected of her, to sit next to him and talk.

"I did. For you. Have a seat. I received Dr. Merill's evaluation. I just wanted to review it with you."

"Here?" This hardly seemed like the place for an in-depth look into her mental health, which was completely fine by the way.

"I get tired of being profiled through my office window."

"Well, what is there to discuss? She gave me a clean bill of health."

"Patient shows no hesitation tackling difficult goals 'as part of reintegrating into her life. She has reached out to her mother…'"

"I'm going to" Emily interjected with a certain firmness in her voice. Elizabeth Prentiss was a busy woman and she had just received a new European posting. What was Emily supposed to do? She hardly had the time to fly out to see her mother, who wouldn't have time to entertain her even if she did. And did Hotch really expect her to discuss this sort of matter on the phone? Was this the sort of idle phone call chitchat discussed in the Hotchner family? Because this sort of talk was not the Prentiss way. The Prentiss way to sweep any inconvenient feelings under a $10,000 imported Persian rug. Or did Hotch just expect her to send her Mom a quick text between cases, 'Hey Mom, you know how I slept with that international terrorist and he tried to kill me and you thought I was dead? Yeah that was weird right? Hashtag YOLO.' Emily thought that hardly seemed appropriate as a small smile crept on her face as she imagined one her mother's lackeys reading that text to her.

Hotch glanced back to her file before speaking up again, "And has started a romantic relationship with a man named Sergio."

This was going to be more difficult to explain, "Well..."

"Emily why didn't you talk about your real relationship with Lieutenant Cavanagh? Are you two having problems?" Hotch asked, his voice tinged with a genuine sense of concern.

"No nothing like that, it's just, complicated…" Emily trailed off. Part of her didn't know why she didn't tell her therapist about Christian. Maybe it was because she didn't want to have it analyzed in her sessions, questioned by an outsider. What her and Christian had worked. Maybe it was unconventional, them living over a thousand miles apart, but they made it work regardless of the distance. They loved each other and that was enough for her. She didn't need, or want, someone else critiquing or questioning that. Hotch's voice shook her from her thoughts as she refocused on the man in front of her.

"Now, I don't care if you lie to your therapist. All I care about is how your behavior affects your job."

"I don't think it has" Emily defended.

"You've been overcompensating."

"How have I…"

"You rushed to repair your relationship with Morgan. You've become an emotional sounding board for Reid and Rossi."

"That's being a good friend."

Hotch gave her a small smile, "You offered me parenting advice."

"Ok, so maybe I have been working a little bit harder to regain people's trust. Is that such a bad thing?" _I did make everyone think I had died for months and then just showed up in near perfect health. I would say that the sense of trust the team and I once shared warranted a bit of rebuilding. _

"No. It only is if you use it to avoid dealing with what you went through."

"But I'm not. I chose to come back here. Why? Because I care about the people I work with? Yes. But also because it's clean. I know who the good guys and the bad guys are. I don't have to worry about screwing someone over to make a case."

"Ok. I want you to make a deal with me. You're gonna go weeks, months even, feeling fine. And then you're gonna have a bad day. Just let me know when you do."

"And that's it?" Emily questioned with a hint of genuine shock in her voice. To her it seemed too easy to be true, but Hotch knew from personal experience that it was going to be much more complex than that.

"That's it."

"Deal."

"Sergio?"

"He is the perfect man. He doesn't hog the covers, and he poops in a box" Emily replied with a smirk.

"Well, I'll try not to tell Cavanagh that" Hotch joked with a small smile as the team filtered on to the plane.

Everything felt so simple, so uncomplicated, her relationship, her life. Yes, she still dealt with the occasional nightmare and inexplicable nerves as a byproduct of the Doyle incident, but for the most part she felt like everything was finally starting to be sorted out. Her life was starting to make sense again, both professionally and personally. Was it perfect? No. But was life ever perfect?

However, little did she know that the latest case was going to impact that false sense of security she had developed. That this new case, which felt awfully similar to an old one, was going to expose the blatant cracks in her formerly infallible foundation, and send everything crashing down.

* * *

"Hey" Emily answered as she picked up the ringing cell phone in the Houston hotel room. After the day she had she was relieved that she didn't have to share a room with JJ, who had been extra observant and careful around her the entire case. As a result, Emily needed to have some resemblance of solitude and privacy. She desperately needed that to help her make it through the case, to help ensure that her work was flawless despite how close to her own past it was.

"Hey" Christian replied, already noticing the stress in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"It's been a long day" Emily admitted with a sigh as she slumped down on the bed. "You?"

Christian was leaning against his car in his apartment complex's parking lot. Ever since he had began seeing Emily his 'home,' if you could call it that, felt even more empty and lonely. "It was weird. I got offered a promotion, they want me to run the entire undercover department for the area."

"That's great" Emily responded in an excited, albeit, exhausted tone. "Wait, why is that weird?"

"I'm not taking it" Christian answered with a small smile. "I don't know…"

Emily bit her bottom lip in confusion, "Why not?"

"Because I would never be able to visit you…I'm thinking of transferring to D.C. actually. What do you think about that?"

Emily sighed as she rubbed her eyes, "I don't know if that's such a great idea."

"And why is that?" Christian asked in a firm voice as he crossed his arms. That wasn't the response he was anticipating on getting from the brunette.

"I doubt D.C. would give you a promotion."

"Well they wouldn't, but you know I go down the totem pole and rise up it in due time. We both know I can always rise to the fucking occasion" he teased, wondering why Emily was still silent on the other end of the phone instead of scolding him for being a pervert. "Emily?"

"It's just, it would be a step down." She couldn't believe this was happening. How could she be responsible for ruining his career? He didn't deserve that. How could she do that to him? Especially considering what, who, he would be giving it up for. If he only knew the truth about who she was, what she had done in her past. But he didn't know the truth, he didn't know because she hadn't had to decency to tell him. And now what? Now what was she supposed to say to clarify everything? To Christian everything was always so simple and how was she supposed to tell him that it just wasn't? That she had been intentionally misleading him for months.

"So?"

Emily cleared her throat before responding, "I just don't get why you would want to regress…"

"Regress?!" Christian scoffed as he shook his head in disbelief. "That's rich coming from you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that we both know that there are many people who would consider what you do to be a step down for a Yale grad with political connections who can also speak seven fucking languages" he shot back.

Emily rolled her eyes at the remark, "Sure Christian."

"We both know that I hate it here anyway. I'm fucking miserable so why are you pushing for me to take the job?"

"I'm not pushing you to take the job, I don't care what you do…" Emily said, coming off a bit more harsh than she intended to.

"As long as it's not in D.C. right?" Christian rhetorically asked.

Emily took a deep breath before answering, "I just don't think it's a good idea right now."

"Right now? I don't get what that means. We've been dating for seven months now, I would say that it is a pretty natural progression. I mean, what the fuck did you think? That I would live twelve hundred miles away from you forever?"

"Forever?" Emily repeated, a little unnerved by the term. "I just the space is good for us."

"For us or for you?" Christian snapped as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "Emily, what, what do you want from me?" Christian asked in a defeated voice as he gazed at the setting sun. Wouldn't most women be thrilled that they had been picked over a career advancement?

"I just want things to stay the same."

"Don't you get that they won't stay the same? No matter what I do they aren't going to stay the fucking same." Christian yelled before inhaling sharply as he started down at the ground, idly kicking a few pieces of loose gravel. "We both know they can't stay the same. They're not going to let me decline the position, and if I do take it I won't be able to fly down to see you. Maybe I could swing a maximum of a visit once a month, but, fuck, do you really only want to see each other twelve times a fucking year? Is that what you want?"

"We could make it work…"

"For how long? How long are we going to stay in this limbo?"

"I don't know. It is what it is" Emily sighed.

"Oh fuck that" Christian groaned over the phone, "It is what it is? Make it work? What the fuck Emily? Are you the fucking cliché queen now? Why are you making this so hard? Why do you make everything so hard for me? Why can't you just be uncomplicated for once in your fucking life and let us have a normal fucking relationship? I mean, what am I to you Emily? Am I your boyfriend or am I just a guy that flies down once a week to fuck you?!"

Emily scoffed at the line of questioning, "Quit being so dramatic."

"No, every time I mention making things more stable you freak the fuck out and I'm getting tired of it. You know it's not like I have anything tethering me to this incest ridden cesspool I currently call home" Christian remarked as he gestured wildly in frustration. He and Emily had horrible fights before but this was different. This was way worse.

"And the fact that you don't have any other personal relationships is my problem now?"

"What? Who says it's a fucking problem? Did I say it was a fucking problem Emily?"

"I say it is."

"Oh is that so?" Christian asked in a snarky tone.

Emily rolled her eyes and replied in a condescending tone, "All I'm saying is that maybe it's a bit unhealthy."

"If anyone is mentally unhealthy it's you! You're like a fucking physco" he accused.

"You know what Christian" Emily interrupted, "I'm working and I don't have time for all of your needy bullshit!"

"Needy Bullshit?!" Christian yelled with a humorless laugh. "Maybe if you weren't such a fucking ice queen we wouldn't have this issue."

"Oh fuck you Christian" Emily shot back as she hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed in frustration. She knew she was being unfair. She knew that she should have confided in him, she should have told him that this case was bringing her back to the most difficult time period in her life. She needed to admit that the real reason she didn't want him around was because she didn't want him to see her like that. Weak. She needed to be honest, but in an uncharacteristic manner she took the easy way out.

Because it was easier to keep him at bay if he was upset with her.

_I'm having a bad day._

Who knew that such a simple sentence could carry so much weight.

In theory Emily should have talked to Christian about her 'bad day.' She should have told him the truth about everything, she should have trusted him with her most innermost secrets, and she did, trust him that is. But that didn't mean that she wanted to have to relive and explain everything to him. She was reliving enough as it was. And then there was the team, this entire group of people who had no idea how fragile her relationship was, how fragile she felt, except for Hotch. She was grateful that he didn't badger her about opening up to Christian. He was just there for her. He didn't judge her, and if he did, at least he didn't tell her.

He merely watched on as she silenced the call she received, the call that was from Christian.

* * *

"Fuck" Christian yelled as he kicked his car's tire. He knew that Emily was deliberately avoiding his calls, he knew that he had been too harsh with her, but he meant well. He didn't understand why she was pushing him away. But maybe the reason that she was so hesitant about moving forward was because she didn't know how committed he was to her. Perhaps she thought that they could breakup and he would blame her for ruining his career. Christian scoffed at the term, 'career.' He'd rather be unemployed in D.C. than have a career in fucking Vermillion Parrish. And then an idea came to him. Maybe what Emily needed was something a little more concrete. A guarantee that he wouldn't, that he didn't regret anything.

Christian quickly entered into his car, not even noticing the man that was watching him.

He has been waiting for this for a long time. He was so close.

The man in the blue baseball cap grinned while chomping on a red apple, mumbling to himself in his black rental car. "'May your glass ever be full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know you're dead.' And it looks like your half hour is almost up, Jackie."

**Did anyone go back and re-read those flashback scenes after that reveal?**


	21. A Different Way of Saying Goodbye

**There is a "scene" in this chapter. If you don't feel comfortable reading mature scenes then I would suggest you only read the beginning and the end of this chapter, skip the middle. **

Needless to say, the relationship between Christian and Emily in the days following their fight was extremely strained. After the first day Christian had yet to call the brunette, and Emily was not going to give in either, making it appear as though the two were at a standstill, even if that wasn't necessarily the case. Although the calls between the two were nonexistent, Emily did make sure to occasionally text Christian, normally to confirm that she was safe after a case. However, that was the full extent of their communication, which tortured both of them. As a result, Christian had become even more irritable than usual while Emily hadn't been sleeping well, with her sleep once again plagued by nightmares. But she wasn't going to tell him that, or Hotch for that matter. All they would do is coddle her, reminding her of how fragile they saw her. She needed to repair herself, alone. She needed to rebuild her emotional foundation on her own, away from the prying eyes of her team and Christian.

Nevertheless, while the team was aware that the the relationship between the two was stressed, they had no idea how bad it had truly gotten. Emily had admitted that she and Christian had hit a rough patch, but she didn't let on how truly rough it was. So a few weeks later, after returning from a case in Los Angeles, Emily was surprised to see the face of Christian Cavanagh through her peephole. Emily took a deep breath and opened the door, "Christian, hey."

"Hey" he softly replied back with a small smile. "I brought chocolate" he offered as he handed over an imported milk chocolate bar he had purchased for her at the airport.

Emily frowned as she looked down at the kind gesture, "Is this your way of apologizing?"

"In a way. Can I come in?"

"Umm, yeah, okay" Emily stuttered as she opened the door wider and invited him in. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Why? Are you going to poison it?" he asked with a small smile, only to be met with silence in return as he dropped his bag on the floor and walked to kitchen counter to stand across from her. "I didn't mean what I said."

"It's fine" she shrugged. "It's not like it mattered or anything."

Christian sighed as he rubbed his eyes, "Emily it does matter because I hurt your feelings and you have a right to be upset. I regret what I said to you, but I don't regret what I meant. To be honest I'm a little confused by you" he admitted as he scratched his jaw line nervously. Things between them hadn't been this awkward since she first profiled him eight months ago in Vermillion Parrish. "Listen, you need to know that you're not fucking up my career. I don't see it that way. I want to be here, it's not...I'm going to regret anything. It's not like I'd be living in fucking Siberia."

"I know, but it's a lot for you to just leave your life" Emily countered in a tender tone as he shrugged.

"I don't really have a life in Louisiana. I don't see it that way. I don't see it as any kind of version of home" Christian tried to explain as he reached into the breast pocket of his coat. "You need to know that I don't see what we have as some sort of casual fling. So I want you to have this" he stated as he put a ring on the kitchen counter.

The ring was rose gold instead of yellow and the engravings on its sides were completely different, but it looked too similar to be true. How could this be happening? Hadn't she throw this in the Potomac River? Who was this man? What was he doing to her? Did he know all along? Was this some sort of twisted play to show her that he knew the truth? Emily attempted to steady her racing heartbeat, trying to keep herself from becoming physically ill.

"It's a Gimmal ring" Christian clarified with a perplexed expression as he noted the haunted look on her face. "My father couldn't afford the traditional diamond ring, but, listen, I'm not proposing to you. It'd be wicked fucked up to propose with a ring from a failed marriage, but I want you to have it" he warmly told her as he slid the ring over.

"I-I, where did you get this?" Emily asked, still for some reason seeing Doyle's ring in front of her. "Where did you find this?"

"My safe deposit box" Christian responded with a confused look. "It's not an engagement ring, I just want you to…"

"I can't, I can't take this" Emily firmly replied as she shook her head.

"Wait why?"

"It's just, it's not something I'd ever wear" she lied as she slightly swallowed, trying to calm her queasy stomach.

"Well you don't have to wear it but…"

"Christian please just stop" she snapped as he shook his head and let out a humorless laugh.

"Wow, I don't even know what to say about this. You're fucking, you know what Emily? I'm going to leave before I say something that I regret, or worse, something that I fucking don't!" He yelled as he shook his head and pocketed the ring, slamming the door behind him as he left the apartment.

* * *

Emily rested her elbows on the kitchen counter, supporting her head in her hands. She couldn't believe that she had done that, that she had been so cold about his grand gesture. It was obvious that the piece of jewelry meant a lot to Christian, but when she saw it, it struck a nerve. She couldn't help it. All she wanted was to be able to accept it without thinking of Doyle, fucking Ian Doyle. The man was dead and, in many ways, he had more control over her life dead than when he was alive. He permeated everything, no, he destroyed it, eroding and tainting everything that mattered in her life, including her relationship.

And that was when it hit her. Maybe she was eerily similar to another woman who fell in love with a Cavanagh man, Christian's mother.

Emily too had come from wealth, prestige, and social status, but she didn't care about it. She had fallen for someone who wouldn't quite fit in the world she had grown up in. But then there was something else, something that uniquely linked her with a woman who had died over twenty years ago. For like Juliet Markham before her, Emily sensed that her relationship with Christian was always going to end tragically. Because Christian had always given her everything he had to offer, everything. Additionally, everyone had loved him, with the entire BAU team welcoming him into their little unconventional family. The people who were closest to her thought that he was good for her, that he was 'right' for her. He had made the effort to call her almost everyday. He had made the effort to visit her. He had made the point to tell her that he was committed to her, but the real question was, what was _she_ willing to give him? It wasn't fair that he was already so devoted to her. In reality, she could see the devotion and love in the eyes that betrayed every insulting or snarky remark he made. She could tell how strongly he felt about her, and it wasn't fair that she was holding back from him.

Sure, she wasn't going to be sleeping with anyone else in the foreseeable future, but was she committed to Christian emotionally? And for that matter, was she comfortable with the level of intimacy that he expected? He told her things about himself, personal details that he hid from the world, and, yet, she was still hiding so many secrets from him. He hadn't pushed her, yet. But isn't that always the operative word, 'yet?' There would be a time when Christian would expect to learn things about her, a time when he would wonder about the other Doyle-inflicted mark on her body. A time when brushing the pad of his thumb against her four leaf clover branding wasn't going to be enough. A time would come when saying 'I'm not ready to talk about this' wasn't going to suffice either. For a relationship to truly work there had to be a _mutual _sense of openness, of trust. The question was when, or perhaps _if, _Emily was ever going to be willing to give it. Maybe she always knew that one day, whatever they had now wasn't going to be enough. One of them was going to want more, and the other, the other was going to _need _more.

And maybe that day had come.

* * *

It had taken a few hours for Christian to reign in his anger and return to Emily's apartment. Although he walked with purpose towards the building he couldn't help but feel conflicted, torn between not wanting to be anywhere near the brunette but needing to be with her anyway. However, by the time he had made it back it was already 11pm. Not wanting to wake his possibly sleeping girlfriend, who he had noticed looked a bit exhausted, he searched for the spare key she had told him about, letting himself in. However, as he walked towards the bedroom he heard a soft whimpering cut through the silence in the large apartment. Throughly confused, he quickly and cautiously approached her room and found Emily in a deep nightmare, rushing over to her side to try to shake her awake.

"Emily" he stated as he tried to gently rouse her, a method which didn't work. "Emily wake up" he ordered again in a more stern voice as she woke up and took a few deep breaths, watching him as he gazed into her frightened deep brown eyes. "Are you okay? Did I…"

"No, it's just from work" she covered, waving his concerns off as he leaned down and cupped her face with his hand, running the pad of his thumb softly along her cheek.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, this wasn't your fault" she assured him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a soft kiss which was immediately deepened, neither one of them exactly sure by whom as both of them were completely consumed by the sensual overtones.

Christian brought one hand on to the bed and supported his weight on it, leaning over Emily as they continued to explore each other's mouths as he gingerly traced the top of her upper lip with his tongue, making her breaths quicken. Emily's hands found their way under his black v-neck sweater as she hastily lifted it off him, removing the white undershirt along with it.

Christian responded by moving the rest of his body on the bed, hovering over Emily as he reached to take off the worn in grey Yale t-shirt she was wearing. His mouth moved to begin kissing her neck, working his way down to the clavicle as he placed feather light kisses down towards her breasts. Emily's breath hitched when he moved to lightly suck on a hardened nipple, while her hands roughly ran through his hair. A moan finally escaped her when he ran his hand from the bottom of her ribcage down to her hipbone, scrapping his teeth against the side of her breast as he did so. This is what they both needed, a connection that they had been yearning for. However, although the atmosphere was filled with passion and desire, there was also something else that permeated the room other than the loud moaning. There was a certain sense of deep emotion, of sadness.

As her body somehow became more and more aroused, Emily noticed the immediate lack of contact when Christian moved to take off her pants and panties, frustrated that he was still clothed. He returned to bring her into a deep kiss as she unbuckled his pants and dipped her hands inside of his boxers, making him groan as she stroked his groin. "Fuck" he grunted in pleasure as he moved to suck on her collarbone.

"Take off your pants" she ordered over a moan before he pulled away, leaning over her as his right hand drifted down to her thigh, his fingers slowly tracing the area as his hand moved back up towards her core. "Christian" she moaned again as she arched her back, hoping to bring more contact towards his touch. He obliged as he began to kiss and nip his way up her body, finally reaching where she needed him most, running his hands up her sides towards her breasts teasingly as he sucked and stoked her intimate area with his tongue.

"Oh God" she gasped as he hit the perfect spot, remaining there as he brushed his fingers against her hardened nipples, the simultaneous action causing her to grip the sheets as she felt her climax nearing. After a few more moments, she felt a wave of pleasure pass over her, a certain sense of relief that seemed to momentarily simplify everything that didn't make sense before. Emily tried to reign in her labored breathing as Christian kissed back up her body, dipping his tongue into her naval as he returned to suck on her clavicle.

As the orgasm subsided, Emily wrapped her legs around Christian, pushing down his pants, signally that she wanted the offending clothing finally off. Christian temporally moved away from her as he took off the rest of his clothing, prompting Emily to immediately miss the feeling of his body against hers.

Christian quickly stripped off his pants and returned his mouth to hers, causing them to both moan into the passionate kiss as his shaft entered her, their bodies completely connected. As he pulled away to kiss her neck, Emily lightly licked his jaw, her hot breath dancing across the wet skin, prompting him to groan in pleasure.

"Emily" he grunted as she brought her legs tighter around his body and used her hands to pull him impossibly closer to her. "Fuck, I am so in love with you" he confessed as she scratched her nails down his back, eliciting a growl.

After a few more minutes, he moved slightly to the side, sucking on the skin behind her ear, his thrusts hitting her g-spot at the perfect angle. "Christian" she moaned as she felt another orgasm building. "I'm almost…" she trailed off as she nibbled on his ear lobe.

"Okay" he tried to choke out over a grunt. "Because I can't…" he drifted off as he reached down to grip her thighs, prompting her to gasp at the new angle. Her nearing climaxing was a definite relief for him, as he didn't know how much longer he could hold out for. It had been too long since he had been able to do this, too long since he had last touched her.

"Christian, I'm going to…"

"Touch yourself baby" he softly ordered as he sucked on her pulse point, gently biting it.

"What?" She asked, the pleasure preventing her brain from registering what he was asking of her.

Christian groaned as he felt her hands slowly trailing up and down the sides of his body. "Touch yourself" he ordered again over a grunt.

Emily agreed and snaked a hand down her body, stoking herself as Christian continued his moments against her g-spot. After a few short moments she orgasmed again, moaning loudly as the intense sensation flooded her body with Christian releasing inside her, only removing himself after he was sure the sensation had subsided.

After collapsing next to her on the bed, Christian rested his head on her abdomen. However, in spite of how amazing the session had been, he noticed that this time was different. Typically after orgasming and reigning in her labored breathing, Emily would tangle her fingers into his hair and pull him into a passionate kiss. But this time he merely felt her hands gently running through his hair before she yanked them away as her ragged breaths evened out. And that is when he knew what this meant.

This was goodbye.

* * *

Christian tried to push the thoughts out of his mind as he attempted to drift off to sleep, acutely aware of the fact that Emily wasn't able to sleep either. After a few hours of complete silence Christian finally spoke up, "You've already done it in your head haven't you?"

Emily closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and replied in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "I just cannot do this anymore. I'm sorry but I just…" she trailed off as he nodded.

"I bet you have some perfect fucking speech about the thousand reasons why this won't work" he venomously accused as he jerked his body away from hers.

Emily shook her head. "I wish I did" she honestly admitted.

The reason that she didn't have a 'perfect speech' was because she didn't fully comprehend why she was doing it. She loved Christian, she didn't doubt that. But she couldn't handle it. She couldn't handle the strong feelings and desires she felt for the man. It was all too terrifying, too complicated. Christian cleared his throat and wordlessly left the bed, hastily getting redressed as Emily looked to the clock on her dresser. It read 2:30am. "Where are you going to go?"

"What now you give a shit about me? You know what Emily? Fuck you" he responded in a spiteful tone as he walked to the foyer to put on his shoes, scarf, and coat. He was both relieved and infuriated when Emily didn't follow him. Christian ran his hands through his hair in frustration before walking back to Emily's bedroom where she was still lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Why?"

Emily quietly took a deep breath, allowing the room to fill with a deafening silence before truthfully answering him, "The fact that you don't already know shows why we aren't ready for this."

Christian opened his mouth to respond but immediately closed it instead. He didn't have any words for Emily Prentiss. In fact, for the first time in his life, he had no words at all. Christian just clenched his jaw as he walked out of the room, picking up his still-unpacked bag off the floor. Emily heard his footsteps fading as he walked out the front door, slamming it behind him while she swallowed the tears that threatened to fall.

Emily Prentiss didn't cry, especially not over men. Maybe there was a first time for everything, but it wouldn't be tonight. She wouldn't let it be.

Meanwhile, Christian briskly walked out of Emily's apartment building to the empty downtown street in search of a cab to take him back to the airport. The chilly D.C. night, or early morning, was peaceful, so quiet that the city's normal noises seemed to be almost nonexistent, _almost_.

Because the city's heartbeat was just loud enough to drown out the certain sound of a camera shuttering.

**Any predictions for what happens next with the man in the blue baseball cap? **

**What about what's next for Emily and Christian?**

**Thanks again for all the reviews and please keep leaving them along with your predictions. It's always fun to read when readers pick up on little hints I try to leave behind and reviews keep me motivated to update daily. **

**Also, what reveal are you looking forward to most? **


	22. A Confession and An Abduction

**A bit of girl time before things start to get really crazy. As a heads up, t****here are TWO bombshells in this chapter as we get into the next case.**

**However, I'll give you loyal readers a few small hints since you've been so supportive:**

**1. The man in the blue baseball cap is NOT who Jackie/Christian is talking to in either of the flashbacks. AND I would suggest that you re-read the first chapter's flashback to see what the mystery man is requesting of Christian. Especially focusing on a specific phrase in the second to last sentence. **

**2. Darby and the mystery man in the first flashback are not the same person. In fact, Darby is actually a unisex name... **

A few days after he and Emily had ended their relationship, Christian found himself in a rather uncomfortable conversation with an uncharacteristically clueless JJ. It had been four days after their split and Christian was finishing off a six-pack of beer, throwing the smashed cans at the kitchen counter which was forever marked by the memory of Emily Prentiss. That morning Christian had called up Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton and taken the new position he was offered, mainly because he couldn't bear being in his Abbeville apartment anymore. However, as he desperately tried to forget the raven haired woman, the shrill sound of a cell phone ringing garnered his attention.

"What?" he mindlessly answered the phone as he muted the rare coins infomercial he was watching.

"Christian I'm so glad I got a hold of you, I was worried you wouldn't answer" JJ said with a breath of relief on the other end of the line as she paced in the hospital waiting room. It was an all too frequent habit that she thoroughly hated, worrying about Emily in a hospital waiting room.

"JJ?" Christian questioned as he rubbed his face and sighed. "Did you need something?"

"Emily was shot while working on a case today."

Christian shook his head as he frantically spoke up, "Is she okay? Where is she?"

"San Bernardino County, it was just a graze and she didn't want me to tell you because I guess she didn't want you to worry but I thought you might want to fly out to see her…"

A slightly buzzed Christian quickly interrupted, speaking to the perplexed woman in a condescending tone, "That's a fucking terrible idea sweetheart."

In response, JJ tilted her head in confusion, "Trust me, I know how she can be. She makes it seem like she doesn't want someone there for her, but we all know that deep down she does. Can you please just take a personal day or call her or do something remotely boyfriend-like?"

"JJ I can't do that" he snapped before running his hands through his hair, "I'm sorry. I know you probably think I'm being a fucking asshole and, yeah, maybe Emily does want someone checking up on her. But she doesn't want that person to be me, so can you please just…just make sure she's fine okay?"

"I know you're having problems but…"

Christian scoffed at the statement. "Fuck JJ you really have no idea do you? Well I guess I'm not the only fucking one that Emily won't talk to" he replied back in a snarky tone.

"Uh, okay" JJ responded in an annoyed voice as she pieced together what had happened, discerning that Emily and Christian had split up.

She knew that she couldn't pressure Emily into telling her anything, that she would just have to wait for her friend to open up to her eventually. But she couldn't believe Christian would do something so stupid. She had trusted him to be good to Emily. She had told Emily that he was more than what he let on to be and she was wrong. She had helped break her best friend's heart. This was definitely not what Emily needed after having to reintegrate into her life following everything that had happened with Doyle. In that moment, JJ hated the man on the other end of the line of the phone, partially blaming herself for encouraging the brunette to go after him all those months before in Vermillion Parrish. He didn't deserve Emily.

"I have to go" JJ remarked coldly as she hung up the phone. It seemed like Emily was right all along, Christian Cavanagh was a Grade A asshole.

* * *

3 Weeks Later

"Emily don't lie to my eyes" a tipsy JJ ordered as she pointed to her left eye, "Do you love me?" she asked her friend in the crowed D.C. bar. It had been way too long since their last girl's night out and she, Garcia, and Emily had gone out for a dance lesson followed by a little drinking, well more than a little. Will was out-of-town and Henry, Henry was somewhere but JJ was sure he was safe. She was a FBI agent for Christ's sake, she knew how to keep a child safe.

"I love you so much" an even more drunk Emily replied as Garcia pouted.

Garcia took Emily's hand and placed it against her chest, "And me?"

"And me" Emily reassured, well she meant to anyway, as she poked Garcia on the tip of her nose, making the sloppily drunk woman giggle and sigh.

JJ huffed after taking another shot of only God knew what, "Then why don't you tell me things? Things about love and life and Prentissness?"

"Whaddya wanna know?"

"Where is Christian?" JJ demanded as Emily exhaled sharply.

"Yeah" Garcia slurred. "Where is that sexy bitch?!"

"Probably setting fire to the house of a Yankee fan, or my house" Emily shrugged as she dropped a shot into her beer.

Garcia's face contorted in confusion, "Why your house?"

"Because we broke up" Emily confessed as JJ's face sunk and Garcia looked horrified.

"WHAT?!" Garcia yelled as she banged the table. "This is un'cceptable!"

"When did this happen?" JJ asked, already knowing the answer but wanting confirmation anyway.

Emily counted on her fingers, easily getting confused. "Math is hard" she complained as JJ started laughing before letting out hiccup. "I guess almost a month ago."

"True love is dead" Garcia whimpered as JJ rubbed her arm, hoping to give the quirky woman some comfort.

"And so is my sex life" Emily countered as she took another gulp of her Irish car bomb. "It was a good eight months though…" she trailed off as Garcia poked her in the face.

"Just give me a Red Bull and fifteen minutes and I will ruin his life" Garcia guaranteed as she pretend to claw like a cat.

"I actually dumped him...after sex" Emily confessed as JJ and Garcia simultaneously gasped.

"Was it that bad?!" Garcia asked as she leaned in closer to Emily.

"No it was very good. Very good…" Emily drifted off at the memory as Garcia snapped her fingers to get the other woman's attention.

"Was it a Ken Doll situation?"

"Huh?" JJ asked as Emily scoffed at the question.

"I'm not naming numbers here" Emily began as she moved in closer to the other women and lowered her voice before JJ interrupted her.

"She's too classy for that Pen."

"Damn straight" Emily said proudly, "But I will say that if Christian found himself in a locker room with Michael Fassbender he wouldn't have any _S__hame_ if you know what I mean" Emily remarked with a wink as JJ did a dance in her chair and Garcia scowled.

"Then what is wrong with you?!"

Emily lifted her arms up and made a confused gesture, "I am Emily Prentiss: Self-Saboteur, hear me roar."

"Here's what you do to fix this gigantic fuck up Emster" Garcia began as she pointed to her best friend. "First, you get some fishnets stockings, a felt mustache, and a miniature cable car…"

Emily raised her hand to stop the other woman's advice, "I'm not drunk enough for whatever the hell that is."

"What was his body like?" JJ questioned as she brought her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her joined fists.

"Perfect" Emily sighed. "It was lean, cut, abs but not all steroidy. Perfect body hair, minimal chest hair with a happy trail…"

"The tour guide to the stars" Garcia cut in as Emily nodded. A sober Emily would have left this conversation already, but sober Emily had fled that bar a lot time ago.

"But now his body is not mine to have. It'll belong to some other slut eventually" she groaned as JJ and Garcia shook their heads.

"She will pay the price" JJ threatened as Garcia nodded. "I'm not saying I'll cut a bitch, but I'm not saying I won't" she added. JJ was a notoriously sloppy, angry, and finally happy drunk. It was a weird cycle she went through, but angry drunk JJ was something that had even scared Emily when they first went out together. And Emily had known Ian Doyle so that was really saying something.

"Pssh, who needs 'em" Emily remarked about Christian as she grabbed a peanut. "So Hotch is a marathon runner now? What?"

"Don't try to change the subject" JJ ordered as Garcia nodded in agreement. "We're talking about your train wreck of a personal life, no offense."

"None taken" Emily slurred with a shrug as she tapped on the table. "It is an accurate statement. If Sergio ever leaves me I swear to God, I'll burn this city down to the ground."

Garcia cut into the conversation with an evil grin, "Whatevs home fry, if I have my way no one will ever shuck sinfully delicious' corn again..."

"Pen, loyalty!" JJ scolded the technical analyst for using the nickname.

"I am loyal" Garcia defended. "But I also have eyes" she added before yawning and falling out of her chair, prompting Emily to erupt into a fit of laughter.

"She's so wasted" Emily choked out over a laugh as she pointed to the drunk woman who was climbing back on to the stool, giving an Oscar worthy performance, acting as if she was climbing Mount Everest.

"Please, I'm not drunk" Garcia stated, waving the claims off but accidentally hitting JJ's face in the process.

"You wanna go blondie?" JJ threatened as Emily started giggling. She needed this.

* * *

6 Weeks Later

It had been almost three months since Christian and Emily had broken up and JJ was worried about her friend. Although she had claimed that she was doing perfectly fine, JJ had noticed that Emily was either often late or barely on time to work and that she seemed exhausted constantly. Since they often shared hotel rooms on cases, the blonde knew that Emily experienced nightmares and worried that they may be reoccurring, preventing Emily from getting some much needed sleep. Never before had JJ seen the brunette profiler yawning or rubbing her eyes so often. But what really struck her was how Emily had reacted on a case. It was then that she was positive that something was not right, and she was correct in her assumptions. Something definitely was going on with Emily.

The team was working on a case in Chicago, a case that was especially close to Morgan. Throughout the case Emily had seemed fine, in fact JJ had to admit that her counterpart did better during the interrogation with the unsub, Malcolm Ford, than she did. However, it was on the car ride over to The Company's compound when JJ first observed that something was off. Emily seemed tense, with JJ noting that the other woman seemed to be picking at her fingernails, a habit that she had all but stopped in the months prior. But it was during the arrest that JJ was certain that something was wrong.

The two women had secured the children on the compound and had run on to the grounds to help Morgan apprehend Ford, and that is when it happened. For a split second, maybe even less, as Ford charged towards them JJ noticed Emily flinched. Emily Prentiss had flinched. Emily never hesitated in the field. In fact, JJ was sure that even when she was being beaten by Benjamin Cyrus, or hit by a truck, or even staked by Doyle, Emily never flinched. And as Emily put the handcuffs on Ford, JJ decided that after landing in Quantico she would try to get her raven haired friend to open up to her, no matter how difficult a task it would be.

"Can I talk to you?" JJ asked as the two approached their cars in the BAU parking lot.

Emily sighed as she looked at her watch, "JJ it's 4am. Don't you have to go home?"

"Yeah" the blonde admitted as she ran her fingers through her hair, "but I can tell something's wrong so I won't be able to sleep anyway unless we get this straightened out. Emily are you okay? I mean I noticed that you seemed a bit off and I'm worried that this whole Doyle thing…"

"It's not about Doyle" Emily cut in as she leaned against her car and took a deep breath. "For once it's not about Doyle and it still kind of is. Because I'm, I don't know how to do this and I'm alone because he wanted something that I couldn't, or maybe wouldn't, give him. And now what am I going to do? I mean, it'll be fine, but right now…" Emily rambled off as JJ tilted her head in confusion.

"So is this about Christian?"

Emily bit her bottom lip before responding, "Yes and no."

"Which is it?"

"I don't know JJ, can we just talk about this later?" Emily huffed as she rubbed her tired eyes and tried to stifle a yawn.

"No" JJ said in a firm motherly tone as she put her hand on Emily's shoulder, "I saw you tonight. I saw how you reacted when Ford charged towards you. Emily you flinched when we were in the field. Are you having PTSD flashbacks or something?" Emily laughed humorlessly in response to the question. "What is it then? Because I am not going to just drop it and you know it."

"I shouldn't, it wasn't smart. Everything is already risky considering and I probably shouldn't have gone on the raid" Emily answered as she nervously picked at her nails and scanned the empty parking lot.

"Why?" JJ inquired as she locked eyes with Emily.

"Because JJ" Emily started before taking a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

* * *

Earlier that night, Christian was drinking a beer as he watched the Bruins' game in his packed up and nearly empty apartment. It was his last night in Abbeville and one that he intended to spend like every other night for the past six weeks, alone. Or that was what he was anticipating anyway, because he wasn't alone. But Christian wasn't aware of that until the milliseconds before he blacked out after being hit on the back of the head with the barrel of gun.

"Hello Jackie, long time no see" the man in the blue baseball cap greeted in a thick Boston accent. "How've you been you rat fuck?"

**Predictions? Is Emily really pregnant or is this just a curveball? **

**When and who will discover that Christian is missing?**

**Thanks again for all of the reviews and please continue to leave them. **


	23. I'm Pregnant

**Thank you for all of your continued support and reviews. It's great to have such amazing feedback as we uncover more about Christian's past in the upcoming chapters. Yes, we are headed to Boston. **

"Because JJ" Emily started before taking a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

"Wow, congratulations Em, that's wonderful!" JJ excitedly replied as she engulfed the other woman into a hug, "This is a good thing right? I mean you've wanted this for a while haven't you?" JJ asked as she pulled back to face her tense friend.

"It's not exactly a bad thing" Emily responded as she pocketed her hands, trying to stop from picking at her nails. "It's just not expected. It's not something I'm prepared for."

JJ nodded as she rubbed Emily's arm in a comforting manner, "When did you find out?"

"Two and a half weeks ago. I had been feeling sick and, anyway, I went to the doctor and blood test confirmed it."

"Have you had an ultrasound yet?"

"Yeah" Emily confessed with a small smile. "It's pretty perfect already. It's kind of weird calling it an 'it,' but I'm just not one of those people who does the cutesy fetus nicknames."

"Yeah I get that" JJ remarked with a chuckle. She couldn't picture Emily nicknaming her unborn baby 'bean' or 'squirt.' It just wasn't Emily. JJ cleared her throat before she continued, "Okay I so want a copy of the sonogram, and please don't take this the wrong way, but it's Christian's right?"

"Yeah" Emily replied with an eye roll and a small chuckle. "It's Christian's."

"Have you told…" JJ began to ask as Emily shook her head 'no.'

"Our split wasn't completely acrimonious, but it wasn't what you could consider amicable either" Emily sighed as she ran her hands through her hair. "It's not...considering the copious amounts of alcohol I've had, the caffeinated tea I had been drinking and the stress, I just don't want to tell anyone until I know that it's for sure happening" Emily awkwardly offered as JJ nodded, conveying her understanding about the other woman's concerns. "I feel like a clean break is probably better and until I know for sure that this is happening. Until then, I don't want to contact him. If it doesn't work out, I don't want to hurt him again you know? So I'm waiting until I hit 13 weeks."

"So you're like 10 weeks then?"

"11, that's why I've been a little weird I guess. I just had the screening test to make sure there aren't any genetic abnormalities and I'm waiting back for the results" she informed her as JJ's face lit up.

"A December baby, a Christmas baby" JJ stated as Emily confirmed the blonde's guess with a nod. "That's why your skin had looked so amazing lately. So you got to hear the heartbeat then? Wow, I'm like Pen-level excited about this" JJ admitted as Emily started laughing. "Well then you'll have to call Christian soon. By the way, I talked to him…"

"You what?" Emily interjected as she raised an eyebrow at the other woman.

"It was a while ago, anyway he sounded heartbroken so maybe this is the perfect thing for you two to get back together and raise your baby" JJ concluded with a chuckle.

Emily frowned at the suggestion, "First of all, I don't know if that's going to happen, ever. There are a quite a few issues and I highly doubt that fetus has the ability to fix everything. I really, it's my fault and he's not my biggest fan right now."

"Well you are having his baby, I think that earns you a bit of fandom."

"I don't even know if he wants it. Besides, isn't it a little exploitive to dump him and then take him back because I'm pregnant? Honestly, I don't expect anything from him. And why is the idea of us raising a baby so funny to you?"

"Because Christian and you are going to have such a snarky sarcastic baby it's going to be ridiculous" JJ filled in as Emily started laughing before the JJ became serious again. "And you're going to tell Hotch right?" She more ordered than asked as Emily sighed.

"Yeah, I am. I'm going to give it another week I think."

JJ smiled at her friend, "So a Christian Cavanagh baby. Is the world ready for this? How do you think he'll react when you tell him? And Emily you have to tell him. He deserves to know."

Emily took a deep breath as she looked up at the dark sky, "I know. How he'll react? I honestly don't know. We never really talked about having children and we're not together. It's just really complicated and I didn't ever expect this to happen under these circumstances. We were careful" Emily stated as JJ gave her a pointed look, trying to hide a grin. "Fine, we weren't that careful" Emily admitted as JJ started laughing. "It's not funny JJ, I thought I was in menopause."

"What?" JJ asked with a chuckle. "Emily you're not even forty yet, you're way too young for menopause."

"Well I'm too old for an unplanned pregnancy. By the time it's in college I'll be in a nursing home" Emily countered in a slightly panicked voice.

"Come on, that's not true" JJ said with an eye roll.

"Oh, like you know" Emily shot back in a snippy voice, not meaning to snap at her friend who was just trying to make her feel better. "I'm so sorry Jayje."

The blonde waved her off, "Emily it's just the hormones. I totally get it. I once threw Morgan out of a Bureau SUV on a case and made him walk back to precinct because he insulted Ally McBeal" she confessed as Emily started laughing. "So how is everything going with the pregnancy?"

"Much like it's father this baby is sucking the life out of me" Emily cracked as JJ smiled again. "I've been having migraines, I'm tired all the time and morning sickness is a very deceptive term" she complained with a shrug. "It's not especially difficult or anything, it was mostly just a shock. I didn't expect to do this sort of thing alone, but I'm not really alone. It's like this weird hybrid between being alone but still being tethered to an ex-boyfriend who will probably ensure that this child's first words will be something along that lines of 'fuck the Yankees.'"

JJ giggled at the very accurate statement, "Well if you ever need anything Will and I will be there for you. We'll do this with you" she offered as grin crept across Emily's face.

"Yeah, well, unless you want your personal life to turn into an episode of Big Love I think I'll leave Will out of the equation" Emily informed her friend, who started laughing in response. "Really Jayje, thank you so much, I really appreciate it. But all I want right now is to go to sleep" Emily confessed as she crossed her arms.

"Okay Mommy you get some rest" JJ ordered her friend as she pulled her into another hug, "and be sure to tell your baby daddy."

"I will" Emily agreed with a sigh. "I should probably tell Hotch too since I shouldn't be in the field anymore. But we are not telling Garcia yet. Okay? I need more time to process before that whole 'oh my God a gumdrop-sinfully delicious baby' situation."

"Okay" JJ assured her with a giggle as Emily pulled away.

"It feels really good to tell someone" the brunette confessed with a small smile as she opened up her car door. It somehow felt more real to tell someone else about the baby. _Her baby._ Yes, it was a complex situation, and, granted, it definitely wasn't planned or even the right timing, but JJ was right. This was something that she had wanted for a while. She was going to have a baby. A baby with Christian Cavanagh, which inherently made things more complicated. But Christian was a good man, and after the initial shock he would probably be a good father. Okay, he would totally curse around the baby all the time and that wouldn't be ideal, but he would love it. Wouldn't he? However, even if he didn't want anything to do with the baby Emily knew she could handle it. She didn't need anything from him, and she didn't expect it either. Whether he wanted to be involved or not was entirely up to him and Emily wasn't going to push him either way.

"I'm coming to your next ultrasound" JJ yelled as she got into her car. She knew that Emily was nervous and confused, but she was thrilled for her. Emily was great with kids, Henry and Jack loved her and she loved them. And if she was that loving with her friend's kids, just imagine how she would be with her own child. She always knew that Emily wanted a child, and she deserved one. And there was no doubt in her mind that this child would be both intelligent and genetically blessed. Not as beautiful as her Henry, but gorgeous nonetheless.

* * *

Monday morning, two days after her talk with JJ, Emily woke up to morning sickness, again. That was the only time she really felt like Christian would come in handy, mainly because Sergio was completely useless in the situation. However, while it would have been nice to have someone bring her a glass of water or hold her hair back, but this was life. At least it was better than the last time she had gone through this. At least now she was a little more prepared. But was it too much to ask to become pregnant when she was actually in a relationship? Emily shook the thoughts from her head as she absent-mindedly ran her fingers over the nonexistent baby bump. This was her second chance, one that she felt she didn't necessarily deserve but got anyway. And for that she be forever grateful to Christian. Because even though they weren't together, she had to admit that still loved him and there were way worse men to have a baby with.

After checking her phone messages and returning a call to her OBGYN, Emily was relieved to find out that all the genetic screening tests had come back clean so far and took that as a sign that she should probably call Christian. So before heading to work for the team's noon briefing, Emily called his cell phone and wasn't all that surprised when he didn't answer. She shrugged it off and figured that she'd try again during lunch, maybe then he would be more receptive to her calls. However, that also unnerved her. What was she going to say on the phone? 'Hey how are you? Remember how I dumped you after sex, well ta-da I'm pregnant.' God this was going to be so awkward, but JJ was right, she had to tell him. He needed to know about the baby. _I should probably tell Hotch today _Emily internally groaned as she left the her apartment.

* * *

Following the team briefing, Emily once again tried to call Christian with no success. She opted to call his office phone instead at around 3pm, when he normally had a lull at work. However, while she ideally wanted to tell of her father child about her pregnancy before her boss, Emily scanned the bullpen and decided that it was the best time to inform her unit chief. It truly was the perfect time as the only other person in the bullpen was Reid and she assumed that Morgan was still out to lunch. Had he been there, Emily was sure that he would interrogate her about why she needed to privately speak with Hotch and she was confident that Reid would do no such thing. So after Reid got up to make himself another cup of coffee, Emily dumped a few files on his desk and walked to Hotch's office.

"Come in" Hotch said in response to Emily's light knocking. He was standing in the office, getting ready to take a stack of files down to Strauss when she knocked.

"I'm sorry, you're busy. I'll come back" Emily offered as she moved back towards the door before Hotch stopped her.

"Don't worry about it Prentiss. What do you need?"

"Ummm" Emily began as she swallowed lightly, Hotch picking up on her nervously immediately. Was she okay? Was she quitting the team? "I need to tell you that I'm pregnant."

Hotch breathed a small sigh of relief, this he could work with. "Prentiss congratulations" he offered as he gave her a quick hug, sensing that she needed a bit of reassurance.

"Thanks" Emily replied as she pulled back. Hotch didn't give hugs, did he? This was weird. "Anyway since I'm over 35 it's considered a 'high risk' pregnancy so I'm probably not supposed to kicking down doors and tackling unsubs" she cracked as he chuckled softly.

"No, I would think your doctor would advise against that. So we'll just keep you out of the field and you let me know when you feel you can no longer travel with the team. Before you take your maternity leave I'd like your input on a temporary replacement. Okay?"

"Okay" Emily agreed with a smile.

Hotch furrowed his brow before he uttered his neck few words, "I know it isn't any of my business but I'm guessing that Lieutenant Cavanagh is the father."

"Yeah he is" Emily softly said with a nod.

"Well I hope you two can work things out" Hotch merely remarked as he collected his stack of files off the desk. He hadn't been explicitly told about the breakup, but he was a profiler. He knew his team and he knew that Emily was down heartened, even if she didn't admit it. "But really Emily, I'm very happy for you."

"Thanks" Emily replied with a smile as she left the room, unaware that someone else was watching her interaction with the unit chief.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Emily and Hotch talked about Emily's new life-changing role, Garcia and Morgan were playing around in her office, with Morgan imitating her as he clicked on the keyboards. Which proved to be bit of an irritation to Garcia.

"Derek! Be careful with my babies!" She scolded as Morgan accidentally brought up the security footage in Hotch's office. "What the what?" Garcia asked as she pushed Morgan out-of-the-way and zoomed in on the feed right before Hotch hugged Emily. "Holy midnight organ fight Batman! Emster is rebounding with bossman!"

"What are you talking about baby girl?"

"Hotch hugged Gumdrop!" Garcia exclaimed as Morgan tilted his head in confusion.

"So?"

"Hotch doesn't hug anyone unless…oh my God! Would they? Could they? Well obviously they could, but should they? Should they Derek?" Garcia asked Morgan scratched his head.

"Well…"

"Oh my God you are so slow! Okay here's what happened and don't you dare interrupt" Garcia ordered as she put her finger to his lips. "Okay so Emster obviously suffers some sort of traumatic brain injury and for some reason dumps my sinfully delicious and then she and bossman do a little rumble in the jungle of their own if you know what I mean" Garcia concluded with a wink.

Morgan's took a deep breath, not convinced by Garcia's theories. "You got all of this from a hug?"

"Please Derek, a hug is basically sex in public."

"Baby girl you hug Emily all the time, are you saying that you're having sex?" Morgan asked with a knowing look, taking her silence as an answer. "That's what I thought. Plus this would mess up the entire team dynamic and probably get them reassigned or fired."

Garcia huffed at the argument, "I know that something is off. Just last week I witnessed Emster browsing real estate brochures for row houses in Georgetown, with yards. Yards Derek! Why does she need all that space unless a certain Jack Hotchner is going to be living with her? She doesn't have any kids so why the extra rooms? Why Derek? Why?" Garcia questioned as she put her hands on her hips. "Does she suddenly have a flock of children now? Did I miss that day?"

"Baby girl you be trippin'" he replied with a smile as he left Garcia scowling the office.

"I'm not tripping" she huffed as she crossed her arms and waited for the right time to interrogate her brunette friend. She knew something was up and she intended to find out what.

* * *

As the hours passed, Emily called Christian's old office extension in Lafayette, only to discover that he had taken the promotion and that she had the wrong office number. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, Emily was redirected to Christian's new assistant who informed her that he had yet to show up for work. A revelation that worried she. Why wouldn't he show up for work? It was supposed to be his first day at his new job and he just doesn't bother to show up. Emily tried calling his cell phone again, which as expected went straight to voice mail.

After taking a deep breath, Emily got up from her chair and walked to Garcia's office, knocking on the door before she entered. "I need to ask you for a favor" she requested in a tone that raised Garcia's suspicions.

"Emily are you okay?" the technical analyst asked in an unusually serious voice as she noticed the stress in her friend's voice.

"I, umm, can you check Vermillion Parrish hospital records to see if anyone that matches Christian's description was admitted either today or yesterday?"

"Yeah, sure" Garcia offered as Emily sat down in a chair next to her. The analyst had desperately wanted to talk to Emily about her relationship with Hotch, but was well aware that now was not the right time. As she continued to type on her keyboard Emily began to pick at her fingernails nervously. Something wasn't right, she could just tell. "I can't find anything sweetie" Garcia said in a warm tone a few minutes later.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked as she craned her neck to better see the computer screen, hoping to find something that the other woman had missed. If Christian wasn't in the hospital, where was he? "Can you track his phone?"

"Emily what's going on?" Garcia questioned in a tender voice as she turned to better face her friend.

"Something is wrong Penelope. I don't, I wanted to talk to him but he wouldn't answer my calls so I called his work and he didn't show up. It's his first day in his new position and he just doesn't show up? It's not right" Emily repeated as she rubbed her tired eyes. "I need you to find him" she almost pleaded as Garcia merely nodded in reply as she started tracking his phone number, only to be confused about whether or not she should be worried.

Garcia checked and rechecked the signal as she turned to her worried friend, "Emily the signal is coming from his house. Either he's at home…"

"Or he's gone somewhere without his phone, without notifying work" Emily completed as she inhaled sharply. "I need you to check his financials. Is he still living at his old apartment?"

Garcia nodded as she began sifting through the man's financials, only to find two checks that were paid out to a condo management company in Lafayette. "It looks like he paid a deposit for a new apartment in Lafayette two weeks ago and last week he also paid his rent for the month. But he didn't pay the rent for the apartment in Abbeville so I don't know why he would still be there. It's already the third of the month, why wouldn't he have left by then?" Garcia questioned as Emily's chest felt like it was constricting.

"Okay I need the number for the manager at his old apartment building" Emily ordered as she took out her cell phone and dialed the number that Garcia had pulled up on the screen. She knew this wasn't protocol, but she didn't care. She didn't have time for protocol or proper channels. "Is this Harold Fontaine?" Emily asked as a man on the other line of the phone answered.

"Yes ma'am" he drawled in a thick southern accent.

"This is Agent Emily Prentiss with the FBI and I needed to ask you about the status of one of your vacant apartments located on 405 Gertrude Street, apartment 6B."

"That was some cop's apartment, is he in some kind of trouble?"

"No" Emily clarified as she took a deep breath. "Can you just check the apartment for me? It should be vacant correct?"

"Yes ma'am" he agreed as she heard him grumbling and breathing heavily as he trudged up the stairs. Emily took a deep breath as she heard the man fiddling with a set of keys. "Aww fuck" she heard him groan on the other end of the line.

"What is it sir?"

"That bastard left a couch and a box of crap here. I'm supposed to have the maid service clean it tomorrow for a new tenant. And he left the TV on, I got to pay for utilities. They ain't free, and what the fuck? That bastard stained the carpet…"

"Blood?" Emily asked as her body tensed.

"Nah, broken bottle of beer, glass all over the place. It looks like Bud Light" the other man answered as she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you for all your help."

"Yeah, yeah, tell your friend I'm throwing this box of shit away if he doesn't come pick it up soon."

"Is there anything else in the apartment besides the couch, the box and the TV?" Emily inquired as Garcia continued to observe her.

"Nah, just a cell phone on the floor. Sorry" he offered as he hung up the phone.

Emily rubbed her eyes as she let out an audible sigh. "Christian isn't at the apartment. He was supposed to be moved out of there already. His cell phone is there Garcia. He left the TV on and shattered a bottle on the floor without cleaning it up. He didn't show up to work. This isn't like him. I-I need to talk to Hotch" was all Emily said as she quickly left the room.

She needed to find out where Christian was. This wasn't like him, he didn't just disappear. Why would he just skip work all of a sudden without letting anyone know? He wouldn't. And why would he still be in his old apartment if he was already paying for a new one? Nothing made sense. If he wasn't at work and he wasn't at the hospital, then where was he?

**Where did the man in the blue baseball cap take Christian?**

**Is he still alive?**


	24. We Need Those Undercover Files

**For any wondering, we are getting to Christian's undercover past but the team has to be a little misguided first, as there would be no reason why they would automatically think his disappearance has to do with Boston.**

**The reader 'Mac' made an interesting point about Emily only calling Christian because of her pregnancy, which I was hoping someone would pick up on. However, I will say that just because Emily _claimed_ that was her only reason for contacting him doesn't mean it's necessarily true. Some individuals can be very self-deceptive. A short talk with Garcia and a longer conversation with JJ will touch on that subject later so hold tight. **

**Additionally****, a few hijinks ensue when Garcia finds out about Emily's pregnancy.**

As his senses returned to him, Christian realized that he was blind folded, bound, and gagged and he had a pretty good idea of who had done it to him. _How fucking original _he internally groaned as he tried to shuffle around, realizing that he was confined in a small space. A space that was moving, a car trunk. _What the fuck is this? Fucking Goodfellas? _He heckled as he tried to fiddle with the restraints to no avail as he felt the car come to a stop. But no one took him out of the trunk…yet.

* * *

As soon as Emily burst through his office door, Hotch knew something was very wrong. Emily never entered into his office without knocking, she was always polite, always a consummate professional, but this time was different. This time she didn't seem cool and collected like normal, she seemed frantic.

"Prentiss?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think something happened to Cavanagh" Emily explained, trying to distance herself from the man she was concerned about, not even noticing that Rossi was also in the room.

"Why is that?" Rossi inquired in a fatherly voice from the corner of the room as Garcia also entered into the crowded office.

Emily calmed herself before answering the question, "I needed to contact him and he hadn't been answering his phone, which I understand means nothing. But I called his office and he didn't show up for work today. Hotch, it's his first day on a new job and he didn't even let them know he wouldn't be going in. I had Garcia track his phone but the signal is coming from his old apartment where he doesn't even live anymore. I called the property manager to check the apartment, because it should be vacant, and Christian wasn't there but his phone was on the floor and the TV was still on. Christian is OCD about turning off lights and electronics when he isn't using them. It's one of his pet peeves. This doesn't make sense, I think something happened to him" Emily explained as Hotch furrowed his brow and looked to Rossi who nodded. Something definitely was up.

"Do you want me to put a call into the State Police?" Hotch questioned as Emily shook her head.

"No, I don't trust anyone over there. They're all corrupt. For all we know he could have found something on them and that's why this is happening."

"Prentiss what do you want me to do? A missing person's report has to be filled. The State Police are tasked with finding him, and if they need help then we will be invited on the case. There are the channels we have to go through" Hotch reminded as he gave her a pointed look. He knew what she wanted from him. She wanted the team to find Christian, but he couldn't justify that. How would he explain that to Strauss?

Emily rolled her eyes at his question, "If you do that we'll have to turn the case…"

"There is no case" Hotch retorted in a firm voice. "Emily there is no case and if there is one I told you, we need to go through proper channels. We cannot just step over the local law enforcement like that, and I can't send the team down to Vermillion Parrish just because you can't get a hold of your ex-boyfriend…"

"I don't want to go down to Vermillion Parrish, maybe Garcia can hack the files from here. I doubt any of those officers would be willing to help us anyway, especially if this a case of police corruption."

"Prentiss" Hotch warned as he shook his head in disapproval. "We can't just hack into State Police records without just cause."

"He's missing, this is just."

Garcia audibly gulped at the argument. Was Hotch unwilling to help because he was jealous of Christian? Garcia was pulled from her theories by Rossi cutting into the conversation, attempting to calm things down. He could tell that Emily seemed especially emotional, and had noticed that she seemed exhausted and ill over the past few weeks. He wagered that she was probably pregnant and he didn't want stickler for protocol Agent Hotchner upsetting an already worried pregnant woman.

"What if Garcia checked his personal computer search history? It's doubtful that he would search anything related to corruption on a State Police computer anyway" he suggested as Emily nodded. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea.

"This is still unethical and…" Hotch began before Rossi cut him off.

"Prentiss has good instincts. If something doesn't add up, and I'm convinced that it doesn't, then we should let her look into that."

Hotch sighed as he ran his hands through his hair, remembering that the brunette woman was more emotional than usual while also thinking back to how afraid he was when Haley and Jack were in danger. The team had been there for him, and maybe the time had come for them to do the same for Emily. "Is that all right with you Prentiss?"

"Yes, thank you Hotch" Emily responded with a small smile.

"I want you working on those consults, leave the searching to Garcia. She'll let you know if she finds anything that may seem suspicious. Do you remember speaking with him about anything work related that might be relevant, probably in the past few months?"

"I can't think of anything" Emily replied in a disappointed tone. "He wasn't working on any cases of his own. He was just supervising."

"Well that could be a good thing" Rossi offered with a shrug. "We don't need to check his work files anyway because he wouldn't have been targeted if there was an undercover case gone wrong, since he's not technically working the case. He's just a supervisor. If something is there, it'll be on his personal computer."

"I hope so" Emily remarked with a small grateful smile to Rossi as she left the room, while Hotch cleared his throat to stop Garcia before she followed the other woman.

"Garcia, are you okay with this?"

"Of course Bossman, especially because I really do think something is up. I promise that I'll only focus on professional searches he made" Garcia responded as Hotch nodded.

"I need you to keep an eye on her. She cannot get too involved on this case. We don't need her judgement to be clouded. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir" Garcia replied as she left the room. _Okay they are totally hooking up. Oh my God! I am so good, they don't call me the all-knowing for nothing. _Garcia internally praised herself as Rossi chuckled as he looked over to the younger man.

"What?" Hotch asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"We are relying on Penelope Garcia to be the voice of reason. It is truly a brave new world" he commented as he left a smiling Hotch alone in the office.

* * *

Emily was having a difficult time trying to concentrate on her consults while Garcia was digging through Christian's personal and professional life. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the man, about what he had been doing over the past few months, and who he was doing it with. Did he have a new woman in his life? Would he be receptive about the baby? Would he ever want to be a father to it? Would he get the chance? Emily closed her eyes and tried to shake the thoughts from her head as one of the first conversations she had with Christian played in her mind on repeat.

_"Oh really? Have you ever been undercover?" Christian challenged, oblivious to who he was talking to._

_"Yeah, you?"_

_"Boston, took down an influential Irish mobster and entire his crew" Christian replied in a cocky voice. _

Was that what this was? Or was she just projecting her personal experiences on him, crippling the case in the process. As a profiler she was trained to trust her hunches, but normally her hunches were unbiased. But this time, this time it was different. The case, even though it wasn't even officially one yet, was personal. It involved an ex-boyfriend, a man who she still deeply cared for, a man who was the father of her unborn child. A man that probably hated her after she ended their relationship, mainly because she wanted to protect him. And that desire to protect him hadn't faded in the slightest, which made this entire ordeal so difficult. Because she was too close to solve the case objectively, and, yet, too far from Christian to know what was going on in his life. It was an infuriating circle, and one that was stressing her out, which wasn't good for her baby. _Their baby. _

Meanwhile, after hours of searching Garcia was disheartened. She had hacked into Christian's personal internet server and had found nothing interesting at all. And she wasn't over exaggerating, there was absolutely nothing interesting at all that he looked up online. His entire website history over the past six months had consisted of airfare searches, websites about what to do in Washington D.C., websites about moving to D.C., fantasy football, ESPN, and a Google search of 'I hate Emily Prentiss,' which made Garcia giggle. But other than that there was nothing, nothing that pointed to why he would be abducted. Frustrated and feeling like she and disappointed her friend, Garcia left her office to find Emily.

"Gumdrop, I can't find anything" Garcia confessed to Emily, who was making herself a cup of mint tea in the BAU's kitchenette, hoping that the beverage would help calm her queasy stomach.

"No work related searches?"

"Nope."

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Did you find anything out of the ordinary? Anything at all? Any new girlfriends that could be suspicious?"

Garcia raised an eyebrow at the inquiry and tried to hide a small smile, "No Gumdrop, no new girlfriends that would explain this."

Emily nodded as she rubbed her temples, trying to come up with another plan. "We need to talk to Hotch again" she firmly stated as she and the technical analyst walked back to Hotch's office.

After knocking on the door, Emily and Garcia noticed Hotch motioning through the glass panel for them to come in. The two patiently waited as he tried to wrap a phone call conversation he was having with a colleague. "Anything?" Hotch asked as he hung up the phone and glanced to the two women in front of him.

"Nothing" Garcia answered. "I really can't find anything that would point to an unusual disappearance."

Hotch crossed his arms over his chest and clenched his jaw before he spoke up, "Garcia hack those State Police files. I want you to check every case he has been working on. If he was supposed to start work today and was planning on moving the rest of his belongings before doing so, that means that he was probably abducted on Friday or Saturday. He showed up for work Friday right?"

"Yeah" Emily confirmed as Hotch nodded.

"So we're looking at Cavanagh going missing on Friday night at the earliest. If he's missing we need to find out what is going on as soon as possible. We don't have an unlimited time frame. Garcia be discrete hacking those files, we don't want to tip our hand to anyone. Prentiss, I want you to work with Garcia in going through those files. See if there is anything that stands out to you. If it comes down to it, Rossi and I will find a way to convince Strauss that we need to take this case, but until then there is no case. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes" Garcia and Emily both simultaneously answered as they both headed back towards Garcia's office.

* * *

It was almost 7pm and Emily was still scrolling through the pages of case files Garcia had found. It had been long day, and it was about to get even longer when she noticed that the other woman was intently watching her. It was a little creepy and Emily was worried that she knew. Emily had done her best to hide her pregnancy, but there was only so much that counterintelligence could do to keep something like that under wraps. First, she was always exhausted, that would be one giveaway. Second, she seldom ate Chinese food anymore, the smell making her instantly nauseated, and her formerly iron stomach relied on mint tea and ginger ale to get her through the mornings. Emily was positive that Garcia would have noticed the copious amounts of ginger ale and Saltines she had been eating. And then there was the temperature issue. Typically Emily was always cold, but ever since she became pregnant she was constantly flushed and preferred rooms at a brisk 68 degrees. Emily sighed as she added everything up together in her head, she was screwed. The oracle knew.

"Hotch is a good man huh?" Garcia asked as Emily moved on to a new case file that Christian had signed.

"Mhmmm."

Garcia put her hand on Emily's forearm to get her attention, "It's okay Gumdrop. I know."

"You do?" She asked with an eyebrow lifted. Yep, she was screwed, "How long?"

"Just today, but I wish you would have told me." Emily nodded, taking note of the other woman's feelings, "Of course I'd be happy for you."

"I know PG, but I wanted to tell Christian first."

"Oh" Garcia responded, still thinking they were talking about something else entirely. "That's why you had to call him. You had to tell him that you've been making bacon with the bossman" Garcia winked as Emily choked on a sip of water.

"What?"

"You know" Garcia winked again as Emily cringed.

"No, I don't. Garcia I'm pregnant" Emily clarified, or at least tried to as Garcia loudly gasped.

"OH MY GOD! Jack's going to be a big brother!"

"Beth's pregnant too?"

"Oh my God he's still seeing Beth?! That bastard!" Garcia scolded as Emily became ever more confused.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Uh duh, because you're pregnant with his baby?!"

"What?!" Emily yelled as she face palmed. "I'm pregnant with Christian's baby, this is Christian's baby. I have never slept with Hotch."

"WHAT?!" Garcia shrieked again before making an apologetic face as Emily rubbed her temples. "So this is your breakup bang baby."

"Yes, and can we please not call it that. It sounds a little slutty" Emily complained as she leaned back in the chair.

Garcia rubbed her hands with anticipation at the news, "A Gumdrop-Sinfully Delicious baby? Oh my God a new minion for me to train! I am so the godmother right? I mean who else would it be? JJ? Pssh, she's no good for that. Let's make a rule, for any babies born I'm the automatic fairy godmother and JJ can be your emergency organ donor or something. Oh this is so great. This the greatest thing to ever happen to me! Okay so how far along are you? What are you thinking for birthing classes? Do you need a partner? Is Boston boy neglecting his parental duties? I will ruin him! Okay, what do you think you're having? I know, I know, you won't know for a while but you can have a hunch. Personally, I would prefer a girl this time. Oh my God this baby is going to be so gorgeous…too gorgeous. What if someone tried to steal our baby? Did you plan for this Emily? Did you even consider this when you bred with that hunk of a man? Don't you ever plan for anything?!" Garcia rambled off as Emily nonchalantly took a sip of water.

"Well that went better than I expected" Emily admitted as Garcia squealed pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh my God this is so great!" She reiterated before realizing the situation her friend was in. She and Christian had broken up and he was now missing. And that is when everything made sense about why she was so worried. This was the father of her child they were trying to find. "Emily, are you okay?"

"Yeah" Emily merely said with a nod.

"We're going to figure this out and get your baby daddy back. I promise" Garcia firmly stated as she put her arm around the other woman.

"I know."

"So you haven't told him yet?"

"No" Emily quietly admitted as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I should have before…"

"Why didn't you?"

Emily sighed as she decided to finally be honest, not just with Garcia but also with herself. "Because it would be too hard. Because I know that no matter how hard I try to compartmentalize this, the second I talk to him it's not going to make sense anymore."

"You mean why you broke up?" Garcia asked as Emily nodded. "Gumdrop, maybe it doesn't make sense because it was a mistake and deep down you know that."

"I just" Emily began as she glanced down at the floor, "I need to keep reading through these files, but…" Emily drifted off as she and Garcia locked eyes. "But Rossi was right before, it wouldn't make sense for them to abduct Christian for a case he was just supervising. And he obviously isn't searching into anything related to corruption because otherwise you would have found something on his computer. I just, I have this hunch and I don't know if it's legitimate or if I'm just projecting."

"Okay?" The technical analyst replied in a confused tone. She didn't know where the brunette was headed with this theory. "Maybe you should talk to my baby boy about it."

Emily merely nodded as she left the office and headed to Morgan's desk, hoping to have some confirmation either way about her hunch. "I need your help" she greeted him as he looked up from a consult he was working on.

"What's up Princess?"

Emily bit her bottom lip as she spoke up, "If someone didn't show up for work on their first day at a new job and left their apartment under suspicious circumstances, what would you be thinking?"

"I don't know" Morgan answered as he rubbed his head. "What was the apartment like? Was there blood?"

"No" Emily answered, "if there was it wasn't obvious, it would probably be dried. But a TV was left on, a bottle was broken, and his cell phone was left on the floor" she slipped as Morgan figured out who she was talking about. "A computer search turned up nothing suspicious, and their car's GPS system was tracked to the apartment building. Derek, what would you think?"

"I'd think that something went down" he honestly replied as Emily felt a sense of relief that she wasn't going insane. "The question is, what is the motivation?"

"Nothing in the financials, no injury reports, no issues with relatives, nothing work related…" Emily stated as Morgan cut her off.

"But he was undercover."

"Yeah" Emily confirmed as she picked at her nails nervously.

Morgan took a deep breath before speaking up, "I would say that we need those undercover files."

**Thanks again for all the reviews, and if you haven't left one yet, please do so.**

**Does Hotch agree to let Garcia hack the undercover files? **

**What are Emily's real feelings towards Christian? Were they ever really done? **

**Spoiler alert…No. But will they get a chance to repair things?**


	25. You're Going to Suffer

**This chapter is mostly centered on character growth. **

**The team gets closer to the truth as they prepare to head to Boston. ****Will they get there in time?**

Christian was jarred awake when he heard the trunk of the car jerked open as the man in the blue baseball cap struggled to remove him from it. He groaned in pain as he felt the barrel of a gun connect to his temple before he felt the man grab at his shirt and pants, pulling him from the trunk. The felt sensation of pain hit him again as his body was thrown on a hard concrete surface before the man proceeded to drag his body towards an unknown destination.

At the moment, the man in the blue baseball cap was dragging Christian's body from a garage to inside a small home, opening a door that came off the kitchen and led to a flight of stairs. "This might hurt a little" he warned with a grin as he pushed Christian down the flight of stairs, causing the man to wince in pain as his body collided with the steps before reaching the hard floor. "Don't be such a fucking pussy Kane" the man ordered as he ripped the duck tape off Christian's mouth.

"What the fuck Ray?!" Christian yelled, still blinded folded. Nevertheless, Christian already knew who the man was, tipped off by his voice.

"Oh I haven't even gotten started with you, you rat fuck" the man replied. "You think I would fucking forget the shit you pulled you cocksucker?! Did you forget how you fucked me over?! You betrayed me! You took what was supposed to be mine!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Christian asked as Ray's foot connected with his shoulder.

"Don't play fucking dumb with me Jackie! Don't you fucking do it!"

"Fine" Christian relented as he felt another blow connect to his back. "What the fuck did I do? Okay? I don't know."

"You're a fucking cop!"

"Well la-di-fucking-da Sherlock, obviously, but I didn't take anything from you. What the fuck am I going to do with an old pizza box and a collection granny porn?"

"SHUT UP!" Ray screamed as he punched Christian in the temple again. "You took everything from me you stupid fucking rat" he shouted back he paced around the room. "You were supposed to be my brother! I treated you like a fucking brother!"

Christian tried to breath through the pain as he spoke up, "Well I don't know what the fuck I took from you. Care to enlighten me?"

"No" Ray simply replied as he shot Christian in the ribs with a rubber bullet, causing the other man to hiss in pain. "I don't give a shit if you know or not. Irregardless, you're going to suffer for what you did because I fucking know."

"'Irregardless' isn't a fucking word you illiterate fucktard!" Christian mocked with a small chuckle that sent pain coursing throughout his body. "It's just _regardless_ you dumb fuck. Maybe you should read a fucking book for once, and if you're still confused a book is a hard thing filled with words" he taunted as Ray stomped on his ribs, satisfied when he heard a crack.

"I've been waiting for this for seven fucking years" Ray replied as he re-taped Christian's mouth. "Fitzy Bryant isn't around anymore to pay for your sins you fucking pussy. And you know what Jackie? I'm going to make you suffer and make that federal agent bitch you're fucking witness it, just like I had to. And it's gonna be wicked pissa" He concluded as Christian tried to threaten him through the duck tape. He didn't care what Ray tried to do to him, but he couldn't let that psycho touch Emily. Christian wasn't going to allow it.

Additionally, he really didn't know what Ray was alluding to. Yes, he was undercover and had helped convict him, but what did he take from him? And what did that have to do with Ray viewing him like a brother? Unless…

He knew. He knew about Providence.

* * *

"Absolutely not" Hotch replied in a firm voice after Emily requested that they have Garcia hack into the Massachusetts's State Police Undercover files. "We cannot just hack into confidential Undercover files, it a breach of security."

"Aaron, what other choice do we have?" Rossi asked as the team gathered into the conference room.

"So what is going on exactly?" JJ asked, confused about why it was 8pm and she still wasn't able to relieve her baby-sitter.

Hotch furrowed his brow as he glanced over to Emily, "All outward appearances seem to point to Lieutenant Cavanagh being abducted. However, we can't find a motivation and Prentiss and Morgan seem to think it had to do with his undercover days."

"I can't find anything else that makes sense" Emily spoke up as JJ shot her a sympathetic look. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her friend. Much like when Haley disappeared, it didn't matter that the two were no longer together. They were expecting a child together, they would be always connected. Emily ran her hands through her hair as she continued on, shaking JJ from her thoughts. "Garcia hacked into this personal and work computer history and nothing points to his disappearance having to do with that. His time undercover is the only thing that makes sense" she offered with a shrug.

"I understand that Prentiss" Hotch sighed as he looked over to Rossi and Morgan. "Do you have any contacts in the Massachusetts's State Police Gang Unit?" he asked hopefully as Emily shook her head. Hotch took a deep breath as he rubbed his tired eyes and addressed the team, "Does anyone have a problem with taking this case unofficially?"

After the entire team shook their head 'no' Hotch continued on. "Here's what we're going to do. JJ, Morgan, and Reid, I want you to filter through every psychological profile request we've received until you find one from Boston. Rossi and I will convince Strauss that is our next assignment tomorrow morning. We do not tell Strauss about Cavanagh's disappearance. We do not have the jurisdiction to work this case. Garcia, I want you to hack those files, Prentiss see if any names ring a bell from Doyle's old contacts. We're leaving for Boston in the morning" he ordered in a firm tone as he left the conference room.

* * *

Finding Christian became ever more complicated when, after an hour of searching, Garcia found the encrypted undercover files. However, the files did not list what cases each officer was working on, and actually had a notation for the officers to refer to the paper files that were probably kept by the Gang Unit Captain. This newest piece of information led Hotch to alter the plan yet again. The next morning the team would fly down to Boston, under the pretense of doing a psychological profile on an inmate at Framingham Penitentiary, and meet with the Lieutenant who supervised Christian's case. Emily also had a roundabout idea of how to find out Christian's undercover identity and was frustrated when Hotch ordered the team to head home for the night. She knew that they needed sleep and there was nothing that could be done, but it didn't make it any easier.

It was nearly 10pm when she finally trudged into her dark quiet apartment, slumping on to the sofa next to Sergio. She knew that she shouldn't blame herself, but she couldn't help it. She also knew that she couldn't allow herself to get so stressed, it wasn't good for the baby, but she couldn't help that either. After a few minutes of complete silence, Emily was surprised to hear a knock at the door. She quickly got off the sofa and looked through the peephole, only to find Garcia, JJ, and Henry on the other side of the door.

"Hey guys" Emily greeted in a warm, but confused voice.

"We thought you'd want some company" JJ stated as she shifted a sleeping Henry on her hip. He was getting a little big to carry.

"Come in."

'We brought you chicken noodle soup" Garcia said as she held up a brown paper bag which she was carrying along with a few other bags. "We're doing a sleepover…" she whispered as she pointed to the sleeping blonde boy.

"Uh, are you sure about this?" Emily asked JJ with an eyebrow raised. Didn't JJ have to spend time with her boyfriend?

"Will's working the night shift so yeah, we're sure" JJ reassured as she walked toward's Emily's bedroom. "Do you mind if Garcia takes the guest room and Henry and I sleep with you?"

"You guys can take my bed, I'll just sleep on the couch" Emily offered with a smile as Garcia loudly gasped, making Henry momentarily wake up as his mother took him to Emily's room.

"Gumdrop, we are not letting a pregnant woman sleep on the couch. We're not animals!"

"Yeah" JJ agreed as she returned from Emily's room to the other women, "Plus you should get used to sleeping with a child. You can eat soup right?"

"It's like the only thing I can eat" Emily complained as she walked to her kitchen and took three bowls out of the cabinets. "I've been throwing up so much that I've actually lost weight…"

"OH MY GOD!" Garcia shrieked in horror as she ushered Emily from the kitchen back to the sofa, the shrill noise prompting Sergio to retreat to the guest room. "Let Jayje do that. Aunty Pen-Pen is here to care for you" she ordered softly as she stroked Emily's hair, making JJ laugh.

"I can't believe that you actually told her" JJ stated with a smirk as Garcia scowled.

"Well the alternative was allowing her to think that I was sleeping with Hotch" Emily remarked with a chuckle as JJ scoffed.

"Pen, why would you think Emily was sleeping with Hotch?"

"Duh, they hugged."

"And?" Emily asked as she tucked into her bowl of soup.

"A hug is just smacking the salmon with some clothes on" she claimed as Emily rolled her eyes. "So anyway Gumdrop, where is the photographic evidence of my newest minion?"

Emily ate another spoonful of soup and turned to look at the other women with a confused look, "What?"

"The sonogram" JJ cleared up as she sat next to the brunette.

"Bedroom nightstand" was all Emily said before Garcia took off towards the room, prompting Emily to chuckle.

"So how are you doing really?" JJ questioned in a tender voice.

Emily took a deep breath as she put down her bowl and rubbed her temples, "I don't know. I can't lose it you know?"

"Well you can now" JJ began as she rubbed her friend's arm. "It's just us. You don't have to be 'Agent Prentiss' around us. You know that right? You're allowed to be worried."

"Thanks" Emily replied with a small smile. "But honestly, I need to focus or I'll just drive myself crazy…" She trailed off as Garcia rushed back into the room.

"It's beautiful" she remarked teary eyed as she handed off the picture to JJ.

JJ smiled at the photo and pointed to it, "You see this the head and this is the feet."

"It has your eyes Gumdrop" Garcia cooed as Emily saw an opportunity to tease the other woman.

"Garcia that's a blob" Emily remarked in a matter of fact tone with a smirk as she pointed to the sonogram. "I don't even think it has a face yet."

Garcia scowled at the comment, "How dare you Gumdrop. This adorable blob is my godchild…"

"Wait a second" JJ cut in with a stern look as she lifted her hand to stop any possible protests. "Who said you're the godmother? You already have Henry."

"So do you."

"And?"

"And why can't I have another baby?"

"Because I want this baby" JJ shot back as Emily rolled her eyes. Did neither of them realize that it was her and Christian's baby?

"And I deserve this baby."

"So do I! Who helped Emily in Paris?"

"Well I gave her relationship advice. If I didn't tell her to slam the ham with sinfully delicious she wouldn't even be knocked up right now" Garcia argued as Emily chuckled at their antics.

"So?"

"Okay we'll compromise. I'll get mini-gumdrop from birth until age 13, then you'll get him or her until it turns 21, at which point I'll get them back" Garcia suggested as JJ glared at her.

"So I get the crappy teenage years when it hates adults and you get cute baby and fun drunk?"

"Wait a second" Emily interjected with a warning voice. "Neither of you two are getting my child drunk."

"Ugh, so overprotective. This is what happens when you coddle your child" Garcia whispered to JJ who just nodded in reply.

Emily just shook her head at her friends. Yes, they were insane, but they helped distract her from everything. That is what she desperately needed, and they knew it.

* * *

After getting Garcia and JJ situated, Emily took a shower and got ready to settle into bed with JJ and Henry which was a little weird. She was used to sleeping with JJ since they shared beds on cases frequently, but she never really shared a bed with a child. Her mother had never shared a bed with her when she was little, never. So the idea was fairly foreign to her as she climbed into bed with the sleeping mother and son.

"Where are you at emotionally?" JJ sleepily asked as Henry curled into her.

"Okay I guess. I'm a little worried. It's complicated because I feel more concerned than I would if it was just an ordinary disappearance" Emily quietly admitted. "I know we're not together anymore, but it doesn't feel like we're really over. You know?"

"Maybe because you aren't."

Emily chuckled at the statement, "You know how some couples say how they complete each other and make each other better people?"

"Yeah."

"We're so not one of those couples" Emily remarked as JJ quietly laughed. "Things with Christian were different than that. I don't know, I think the only way to explain it would be that he made me feel like I could have fun again."

JJ smiled at comment, because she always knew that Emily and Christian weren't over yet, not by a long shot. "I want you to be honest with me okay? Why aren't you with Christian? Because we both know that you are still in love with him. It's so obvious Em. It's right there in your eyes, those eyes that conceal every emotion but this. And I think now is time for you to be really honest about why you broke up."

Emily took a deep breath as silence filled the room. She smiled when she heard Henry's light snoring, the sound somehow strangely soothing. "My therapist said something to me during my last session. She said that maybe Emily Prentiss did die, a part of her anyway. It sounds so stupid but it stuck with me. And then we were on the Piano man case and I felt like maybe I was forever marked by Doyle. Like there's this part of me that he's always is going to have a hold on. And then there's Christian and he's this crass, hilarious, strangely charming, great guy and he wanted to change his entire life for me. He was willing to do everything for me and he wanted it all right then and I just thought, if he only knew."

"Knew what?"

Emily shook her head before answering, "I can picture the look on Morgan's face when he found out. I can see it. I'm either so messed up that I fell for a terrorist or I'm a cold-hearted prostitute who had sex with a unsub for a profile. I honestly don't know which is worse. And things with Christian were, they just showed me that any part of me that might have thought Doyle was more than just a job was lying. So what does make me?" She questioned as she nervously chewed on her lower lip, feeling both terrified and relived to be so exposed to someone. "I felt like if Christian knew he would never look at me the same way again. Sure he said that he would never judge me, but this isn't a normal situation you wouldn't judge someone about. And I just thought he deserved someone better…" Emily drifted as JJ's heart broke at the words her friend had just uttered. How could Emily think that about herself?

"Emily" JJ spoke up firmly as she propped herself up on an elbow and faced her friend. "You are the first person to accept anyone else, regardless of their past, but for some reason you are so hard on yourself. We all have issues. We all have secrets that we think taint us, no one gets out of the world without them. Spence, Morgan, Hotch, Rossi, Garcia, me, we all have them and judging by what happened I would say that Christian does to. You have to stop being so hard on yourself and worrying about what everyone thinks of you. We all love you, the same way we did before we knew about Doyle. In fact, I would be willing to guess that we love you even more because of it. We love how humble you are, how you never acted superior to us even though you have may more experience. We love you for all the sacrifices we know you made. Not to mention all that you did for Declan. Emily he wasn't even yours and you were willing to sacrifice your life so he wouldn't be turned into some monster like his father. That person, the real Emily Prentiss, didn't die. We just got to know her better, no matter what some stupid Bureau shrink said. You know those are like the worst shrinks on the planet right? If they were any good at their jobs they'd work for celebrities or something. They'd be on the Britney Spears crew" JJ stated as Emily chuckled.

"Emily, you deserve to be happy. If the guy that makes you happy is Christian then you have to tell him. You need to tell him how you feel and fight to fix things with him. And don't lie to yourself and say this is just about the baby because we both know that this is more than that. It has always been more than that. And Christian, God Emily he is so hopelessly in love with you and I don't think that's ever going to change. I think he'll only love you more when he learns the truth, just like the rest of us" JJ concluded as she ran her fingers through Henry's hair. "So I want you to tell me the truth. Do you want to be with him or not?"

"Yes" Emily repeated in a quiet voice as she let JJ's words sink in.

"Then get off your ass and do something about it" JJ ordered as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Wow JJ" Emily laughed. "That was just, I don't know how to describe what that was."

"You needed some tough love" the blonde remarked with a smile. Now, get some rest" JJ kindly instructed as Emily simply nodded and turned on her side.

**In the next chapter is mostly case focused and all the little hints I've left so far will start to all connect back together…**

**Any final predictions before the truth starts to come out?**


	26. Jackie Kane

**Thanks again for all the reviews. You guys are the best.**

**I'll warn you, this chapter is crazy.**

_7 Years Prior_

_It was 5am when his phone went off and he knew exactly who the message was from before even reaching for the phone. As expected, the message was simple._

_'Shipyard 5:30.'_

_He rubbed the haze from his drug-induced sleepy eyes as he rose from the couch and made his way to get dressed, haphazardly throwing on a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. It was mid-November and winter was approaching, but he was too tired to search his dilapidated Charlestown apartment for an overcoat. Maybe he didn't even care, because he knew why he was being contacted. It was about Providence. It was always about Providence. How they were going to fix things, what he was expected to do. Christian ran his hands through his hair before grabbing his trusty blue Red Sox baseball cap, heading out the door to meet Jimmy Sullivan._

_It was still dark when he approached the dock, observing the shadow of a slightly overweight slouched body in the distance, gazing out at the inner Harbor. The older man didn't bother to check to see who it was, he already knew._

_As usual, Christian, or Jackie, was late. And as usual, Jimmy Sullivan didn't look too amused as he pulled his grey jacket tighter around his __body and turned to face the man who he had loved like a son. "You're late Jackie."_

_"Sorry Jimmy" Christian shrugged as Sullivan just shook his head before getting more serious._

_"You know when I was a boy this place was still being used by the fucking Cracker Jacks. I like it this way better. Gives me a place to think" he began as he continued to gaze out at the dark sky, the weather just warm enough from preventing their breath from being seen. "People think I started by robbing banks, but I started all this back in the fourth grade when I was robbing Davey DiSilva for his fucking milk money. That's when this all started and it can't all be for fucking nothing Jackie" Jimmy Sullivan stated as he turned around to face Christian. __"We need to talk."_

_"About?" Christian inquired as he scratched his jaw line and took out a cigarette._

_Jimmy Sullivan chuckled at the question as he lightly patted Christian's cheek, "Don't play fucking stupid with me Jackie. You know what we need to talk about, Providence. Someone fucked up."_

_"That wasn't me."_

_"I know that. But I know who did, and I know you do too."_

_Christian sighed as he rubbed his eyes again, "He made a fucking mistake…"_

_"You can do a hundred things right and make one mistake that fucks everything up" Jimmy Sullivan stated in a matter of fact tone before briefly pausing. "Just try not to make a mess when you do it, I'd like to give him a decent funeral."_

_"What if we…"_

_"Enough! Don't you think I have been bending over like a fucking Russian gymnast trying to fix this shit?! What am I fucking retarded now? Did I get here by being fucking retarded Jackie?!"_

_"No" Christian admitted as he hung his head and removed the cigarette from his mouth._

_Jimmy Sullivan's voice became more stern as he enclosed in on the space between them, "If I say it needs to be done than it needs to be fucking done! __If I could write his sins I would, but we both know that his fucking mistakes need to be paid in blood. You think I want to go to war with some meatball eating motherfuckers from fucking Providence?"_

_"No."_

_"You need to understand something, all that I have, all of it was earned. It was paid for with blood, sweat, and tears."_

_"Not your blood" Christian offered with a smirk._

_"Or my tears."_

_"But it was our sweat."_

_"You okay with that?"_

_"I'm not okay with wasting it."_

_"Neither am I. You know, some people, they call me a fucking egomaniac with a God complex. I call it the truth, a man creates his own God. You don't want to waste that sweat, then you do what is needed to protect it. Protect what I built. Protect what will be yours...Become your own God. It's time Jackie."_

_Christian shook his head and nervously scanned the empty shipyard before turning back to Jimmy Sullivan, "I can't."_

_"Can't or won't?"_

_"When it comes to pulling the trigger, what's the difference?"_

_"Everything" Jimmy Sullivan remarked in a firm voice as he reached into his back pocket to hand him a gun. "It's clean. I don't want his blood mixing with anyone's else's."_

_"Jimmy, he's your fucking son" Christian cut in a frantic voice as Jimmy Sullivan just shrugged._

_"We all make choices in life. He made his, and I make mine."_

* * *

The next day after a bout of morning sickness, which was made exponentially more bearable with the aid of JJ, Emily headed to the airstrip, hoping that the trip to Boston would produce some results.

After taking off, Hotch stood up to address the team. "Early this morning I was able to get into contact with Sergeant Brady O'Rouke, he was the trooper assigned to help Lieutenant Conor Mulroney on Cavanagh's undercover case…"

"And what about Mulroney?" Morgan asked as he sipped on his coffee.

"Deceased, heart attack" Hotch answered as he glanced over to Emily, checking if she was okay, watching her unknowingly rest her hands over her abdomen in a protective manner. "O'Rouke agreed to help us out on the case unofficially. However, the only one who has access to Cavanagh's undercover files would be Captain Philip Kelly, who won't open the files without an official investigation. So we're going to work with whatever O'Rouke can give us. Prentiss, you said you might have an idea of how to narrow down who Cavanagh was undercover with?"

"Yeah" Emily replied as Garcia appeared on the computer screen in front of Reid.

"Hello my lovelies, how may I be of assistance today?"

"Hey Garcia, I need you to check Christian's personnel files to see which years he would have been assigned undercover" Emily suggested as Garcia began furiously typing on one of her computers. "Where does he have no work history or bank activity?"

"Okay Emster it appears that he had no work history from late 2002-2005."

Emily bit her bottom lip as she continued on, "Cross check 2005 with any big gang related arrests. Check for Irish mobsters…"

"Oh here is something" Garcia interjected with excitement in her voice. "James Raymond Sullivan aka Jimmy Crowns was busted that year. His entire crew was also arrested."

"Who was in the list of Sullivan's known associates who did not go to prison or die?"

Garcia continued to type until she found the name she was looking for, under a picture of Christian Cavanagh's face, "John Joseph Kane, also known as Jackie Kane. This is definitely your man Gumdrop, it's the eyes. According to this bogus history, Jackie Kane was born August 20, 1984 in Boston and was raised in Dorchester until he was sent to live with family on the Southwest side of Chicago…"

"Irish South side, a lot of mob activity" Morgan filled in as Garcia went on.

"Jackie Kane's files say he was arrested back in Chicago for pretty theft, assault, and finally car theft, before heading back to Boston. That's when he was arrested for assault and battery in late 2002…"

"That's when Christian must have made contact with Sullivan's crew" JJ surmised as the rest of the team nodded.

"And then Jackie Kane doesn't exist after 2005" Garcia finished as Emily bit her bottom lip, trying to piece together everything in her head.

"So Christian is definitely Jackie Kane. Prentiss, do you remember anything about this James Sullivan from when you made contact with Doyle?" Rossi asked Emily who nodded in reply.

"Sullivan was Doyle's go to guy whenever he needed anything in Boston, except Sullivan never agreed to meet with him directly. They always met through an in-between because Sullivan considered Doyle a, and I quote, 'Fucked up fresh off the boat IRA motherfucker.'"

"Oh I'm sure Doyle was pleased about that" JJ said sarcastically as Emily chuckled.

"Yeah, well he didn't have much choice but to ignore it. Jimmy Crowns ran the entire underground gang operation back then. He started as a small time bank robber in Charlestown, but ended up being part of what ran Whitey Bulger out of Boston" Emily sighed as she thought back to the stories she had heard about Sullivan. "Doyle was always calculated, but Sullivan…Sullivan was unpredictable. He was an avid cocaine user and had an explosive temper. He was also known for having an inflated ego, hence the nickname."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked as Emily rubbed her temples.

"He called himself the King of Kings."

Morgan inhaled sharply before focusing on Emily, "Was Sullivan's in-between guy Cavanagh?"

"I never met whoever the guy was" Emily shrugged. "It could have been though."

Hotch furrowed his brow as he turned his attention back to Garcia, "What do we know about Sullivan?"

"Like E said, he was suspected for ten bank robberies, twenty-two murders, racketeering, money laundering, police corruption, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, extortion, gun trafficking, loan-sharking, horse-race fixing, and running an illegal prostitution ring."

"Busy man" Rossi commented before Garcia went on.

"He died in a shootout during the police raid meant to arrest him. And when I say that his entire crew was arrested I mean all of them that weren't killed, and not just in the shootout. A lot of his old guys were killed in prison. But that's good because the list of associates is long but not as long as it could be."

"Okay" Hotch agreed as he addressed the team. "Here's what we're going to do. Garcia I want that list of associates sent to our tablets. JJ, set everything up at the hotel and see if you can meet with Cavanagh's old homicide partner, Detective Keller Barrett. Maybe Cavanagh told him something useful. Myself, Reid and Rossi will work on developing a preliminary profile and see if any of Sullivan's known associates fit it. Morgan and Prentiss meet Sergeant O'Rouke at the State Police headquarters. We need to find out who Cavanagh was closet to. They would have felt the most betrayed and more motivated to abduct him. Let's try to be discreet and find Cavanagh" Hotch ordered as the team nodded in agreement, waiting for the plane to land so they could get started.

* * *

"Sergeant O'Rourke" Emily greeted as she walked into the small office located in the Massachusett's State Police Headquarters in Framingham. A well built forty year old man with red hair and freckles looked up from the desk and smiled at her.

"How can I help you sweetheart?" He asked in a heavy Boston accent with a sparkle in his eyes. Emily tried to refrain from rolling her eyes at the term of endearment. Christian never called her 'sweetheart,' probable because he knew she'd punch him in the face if he did.

"Agent Hotchner called ahead about us. I'm SSA Prentiss and this is SSA Morgan. We're here to talk to you about Christian Cavanagh."

O'Rourke smiled and leaned back in his chair as he motioned for Emily and Morgan to sit down, "Christian motherfucking Cavanagh huh. Is he in some sort of trouble?"

"Not officially" Morgan stated as O'Rouke raised an eyebrow.

"So unofficially then."

"Maybe" Emily interjected. "What can you tell me about Christian's time undercover?"

"Well, Cavanagh was selected because of his background for undercover work by Captain Kelly…"

"Why?" Emily questioned as O'Rourke took a gulp of coffee.

"He was a triple decker kid, Southie kid you know?"

"No?" Morgan asked, confused by what the other man was hinting at.

O'Rourke ran his hands through his hair before trying to explain what he meant, "Cav was born a fucking Back Bay kid, but he grew up in the Southie projects. Father was a shanty Irish drunk, Chris had frequent emergency room visits for 'falls'" O'Rourke stated, using air quotes for emphasis. "If you get what that means. It roughed him up a bit, he was a fucking Irish hothead. I tell you those kind of kids, they're either cops or criminals" he shrugged. "Lucky for us, the kid became a Statie. He knew how to handle himself, which came in handy because Mulroney sent him to fucking Cedar Junction."

"Wait" Morgan cut in as he leaned forward. "He was actually sent him to prison? That wasn't just a cover?"

O'Rourke scoffed at the question, "A cover? No sir. Poor kid was only twenty-one when he went away. Seven fucking months, which is how he made contact with Jimmy Crowns' guys. He gets bagged after a fight at a bar in The Town, wails on some poor fucker with a fucking barstool, winds up in prison, does the time, gets out and starts working as an enforcer with Jimmy fucking Crowns. The stupid bastard really liked him. I don't know much about the actual case, I was just a trooper at the time, but I do know he worked his way up. He was seen as Crowns' go to guy. You know?"

As O'Rourke went on, something that Christian had said stood out in Emily's mind. _I was having panic attacks. _"Did anything ever go wrong while Cavanagh was undercover?"

O'Rourke smiled and nodded at the question, "About eight months before we took out Jimmy Crowns, Chris starts freaking the fuck out. He calls up Mulroney and said that 'someone knew.' I don't know what the fuck he was talking about, but he wanted to go fucking awol. Then a month later he acts like nothing is out of the ordinary. He says everything's fine. He asks like nothing happened. He does the same thing eight months later, a few days before we try to arrest Jimmy Crowns. I wish I could help you out more, but I was just the fucking tag a long on the case. The only one that knows what went down is Mulroney, may God rest his soul, and Captain Kelly, who won't tell you shit without a warrant. You can't fucking blame him considering all the fucking corruption we've had with our undercovers."

Emily nodded before speaking up again, "Do you know anyone that might have some insight on what happened? Was there anyone that Cavanagh may have been close to while undercover besides Sullivan?"

"I got two answers for you sweetheart" O'Rourke answered with a wink. "First, if you want to know what the fuck was going on with Jimmy Crowns, you have to talk to his right hand man, Fendi."

"Fendi?" Morgan asked, not appreciating how flirtatious O'Rourke was being with his partner.

"Oh yeah, you're not from here. Fendi is Donny McElroy. He's up in Cedar Junction. Everyone calls him Fendi after he strangled his girl with a Fendi purse" O'Rourke answered in a matter of fact tone. "And as for your second question, that lucky bastard Cavanagh was very close to Jimmy Crown's daughter, Darby. She was fucking smoking, kind of looked like you Agent Prentiss, more tan though."

"Thank you" Morgan concluded as he rose from the chair, Emily following him as she tried to let everything sink it. Was Cavanagh involved with Darby Sullivan romantically? Would he have understood about Doyle better than she thought he would?

O'Rourke's voice stopped the two profilers before they left the office, "If you're planning on talking to Fendi, and want him to actually talk, well, he's kind of a racist. Probably umm, stay behind" he hinted as Morgan nodded. "And don't bring any Italians either" he finished as he winked at Emily who just wanted to gag.

"What are you thinking?" Morgan asked his partner as they walked down the long hallway towards the main entrance.

"We need to talk to McElroy, and Darby Sullivan" she merely responded as they walked into the parking lot and headed for their rental car.

* * *

The ordinary Boston hotel room was quiet as Rossi and Morgan tried to work on a psychological profile with the very little information they had, crosschecking every hunch against the long list of Sullivan's known associates. JJ was also trying to help the two, disheartened by the fact that Christian's old partner knew nothing about his undercover stint. Reid was working on case notes to prepare for the interview with the Framingham inmate they were due to meet with, the whole reason they were in Boston, or so Strauss was led to believe.

And then there was Emily and Hotch, arguing quietly in the corner of the room, unsure of how to proceed. "I don't think that's a good idea" Hotch replied in a soft tone as he scanned Emily's tense body.

"Hotch he won't talk to Morgan or Rossi. You need an alpha to interview him with you…"

"And I think under the circumstances that shouldn't be you" Hotch replied sternly. "I don't think that having a pregnant woman interview an inmate in a maximum security prison is the smartest course of action."

"What other choice do we have? Because I've been trying to come up with another option and I just cannot find one. We need two people that can go toe to toe with McElroy, both of whom he feels he cannot intimidate. And Rossi and Morgan are out of the question, so who does that leave?"

"Prentiss…"

"Hotch, I have to do this. You cannot do this interview on your own, he won't play ball. We need to rattle him" Emily firmly shot back as Hotch took a deep breath. She was right, there was no one else that could conduct the interview with him. JJ was too new for the mind games they'd have to play, Reid wasn't formidable enough, and McElroy's personal bias was going to prevent him from cooperating with Morgan or Rossi.

"Okay" Hotch nodded as he furrowed his brow and addressed the team. "Reid and Rossi, I want you to conduct the interview at the woman's prison. I cleared it already, they'll allow it for this afternoon. JJ and Morgan, I want you to confer with Garcia about tracking down Darby Sullivan. Prentiss and I are headed out to interview Donny McElroy at the State Prison in Cedar Junction."

"Are you sure?" JJ asked, looking over to Emily with an eyebrow raised.

"It's our best shot" Emily shrugged as she glanced over to JJ and smiled at her in a reassuring manner. This was what she was good at, this is what she knew. This was what was going to keep her sane.

"Okay then" Rossi spoke up, sensing the tension in the room. "Let's get going."

* * *

"What you got for me baby girl?" Morgan asked as he and JJ sat together at the small desk in corner of the hotel room. They wished that they could have a conference room to work out of like they usually did, but this was going to have to do.

"Everything you could possibly want hot stuff" Garcia shot back seductively with a grin as JJ started chuckling.

Morgan flashed her a smile as he took out his tablet, "We need you to find anything on a Darby Sullivan."

"Jimmy Crowns' daughter?"

"Yep" JJ confirmed as Morgan rubbed his head. None of the team had slept well the night before and everyone was running off a pure adrenaline. They were running out of time and they knew it.

"I got her. Darby Katherine Sullivan was born March 8, 1985. Sullivan was fifty one was she was born, but her mother Dawn was only twenty-one, so eww. She had an older brother, James Raymond Sullivan Jr., otherwise known as Ray Sullivan, he was two years older so Dawn was only nineteen when she had him, double eww there. Mother Dawn was killed in a very shady drunk driving accident when the kids were young. Darby stayed out of trouble as a kid, grew up at her family's house in Beacon Hill. It says here that she was an English student at Boston University for a year before dropping out. And, what…but, wait, what? Oh God…" Garcia stuttered as she read and re-read the computer screen.

"What is it baby girl?"

"Umm, Darby Sullivan committed suicide two months after her father was killed."

"How?" JJ asked as she moved in closer to the computer.

"Overdose on barbiturates, but that isn't the only sad part. Guys, according to the autopsy reports, Darby had elevated HcG levels. Medical records confirmed that she was seven weeks pregnant."

**Any predictions? **


	27. The Tangled Web We Weave

**Thanks for all the reviews. We just hit over 200 comments, which is insane for an Emily/OC story. You guys are seriously the best. Thanks again for the feedback and please continue to leave your reviews. **

**Just about all the mystery is revealed in this chapter, emphasis on the phrase 'just about.'**

**I will warn that this chapter contains VERY strong language and some violence.**

Ray turned on a light in the cold basement as he walked up to Christian, who was tied to a chair. He studied the bruised body of his old friend, proud of his work so far as he heard the other man wheezing softly. Christian knew he had a broken rib, and probably a concussion. He had tried to fight to stay awake, feeling dizzy and nauseated from all the blows his head had sustained. He really didn't know how Emily dealt with all the hits to the head she had suffered throughout her FBI career.

_Emily. _

He missed Emily and all he wanted to do was go home with her, apologize for whatever he did or didn't do. He didn't want to do this anymore. He was tired of fucking Ray Sullivan. But even more than that, if Christian was honest with himself, he was scared. He was scared because he knew what the other man was capable of, and he knew how much he hated him. Unlike Emily, he wasn't trained for this. He didn't know which buttons to push and which to avoid. He deduced that his best bet for survival was to prolong the torture for as long as possible to give the police more time to find him. But who was he kidding, no one was looking for him. No one would even notice that he was gone.

Christian was shaken from his internal ramblings when Ray's nasally voice cut through the almost peaceful silence. "You know Jackie, I've been waiting for this for a long time and guess what I found out? The stomach is the most painful place to be shot" he informed Christian with an evil grin.

"Oh so you finally learned how to work Google. Good for you" Christian replied in a snarky tone as Ray kicked him in the chest, nearly knocking the chair over.

"You like that motherfucker?!"

"It was fan-fucking-tastic" Christian shot back as Ray screamed in frustration.

"You know what you fucking piece of shit? Our fun has just begun" Ray growled before lighting a cigarette. "Like my father I would consider myself a reasonable man...

"Were you fucking dropped on your head as a child? Ray, you're fucking Single White Female-Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction level psychotic" Christian interjected after scoffing at the ludicrous statement.

Ray merely ignored the insult as he continued on, "So I'm going to give you a fucking choice here Jackie. But first I gotta know, was she good? Because she looks like she'd be a good fuck."

"Who?" Christian questioned in a stern voice, clenching his jaw since he knew exactly who Ray was talking about.

"Your Fed, fucking Emily Prentiss you silly bastard" Ray laughed. "Quit trying to act all fucking retarded, it ain't working on me. I don't buy that shit. So Jackie here is your choice" Ray began as he roughly grabbed Christian's chin, forcing eye contact. "You can either die here all alone or make the call" he offered as he put a cell phone on Christian's knee.

"What the fuck is this for?"

"For you to call her, your baby mama" Ray clarified as Christian clenched his jaw again and closed his eyes briefly. "You didn't know?" Ray laughed as Christian tried to avoid the forced eye contact. "Oh the fucking tangled web we weave…"

"You're wrong" Christian adamantly cut in. Emily would tell him if she were pregnant. Plus, she was on birth control wasn't she? He was positive that she said she was. Unless…this couldn't be happening. How could this be happening?

"I've been watching your little bitch for a while now and she's definitely knocked up. Is it not yours? Is that it? Was she fucking someone on the side? What a fucking tragedy kid" Ray taunted with a sinister grin as he lightly patted the other man on the upper arm. "Don't you got anything to say Jackie?"

"Just tell me the fucking choice" he ordered in a defeated voice. He wasn't sure what had distressed him more, the fact that Emily was already pregnant with another man's child, or the fact he was probably going to die alone. He knew he shouldn't, but he wondered what his body was going to look like when Ray was done with him, shuddering at the thought. But perhaps, worst of all, was that he couldn't believe that all this time Emily was being watched, targeted because of him. And now Ray wanted to play some sick mind games with her, games he'd probably lose because she was Emily Prentiss and he was a fucking idiot. But it still tortured him nonetheless.

"Officer fuckface, I got two decisions for you to make. Consider this my last act of mercy. You can die alone, like you fucking deserve, or you can talk to her. I'm going to let you call your fucking whore and say goodbye to her. But, and this is the fucking fun part, she's going to have to listen to you suffering, like I had to witness Darby fucking suffering because of you. But who knows maybe…"

"Maybe go fuck yourself" Christian interjected as Ray hit him in the head again.

"Don't you fucking get mouthy with me motherfucker" Ray warned as Christian used the tips of his fingers to push the phone on the ground. "Why don't you want to say your goodbyes? This is your half hour in heaven Jackie, don't fucking waste it. This is a fucking gift, Merry fucking Christmas."

"Blow me" Christian firmly retorted. There was no way he was going to let Emily listen to him be tortured over the phone, he wasn't going to allow himself to be selfish.

Ray's nostrils flared as he began yelling again, the shrill sound only intensifying Christian's headache. "You want me to fucking kill that bitch too Jackie?! Want me to fucking cut her throat?! Because I can. Or should I fuck her first? How'd she like it huh?! She like it rough? You want that you little shit?!"

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!"

"Because I already know where your little slam pig lives you fucking cocksucker…"

"Just fucking kill me, just fucking do it already" Christian pleaded as his eyes began to redden with unshed tears.

"Are you fucking crying Jackie? You know you should have saved the fucking waterworks for when you actually died you fucking pussy. But fine you don't want to call her, you don't have to fucking call her" Ray shrugged in a disappointed manner. He wished he knew how to find her personal cell phone number, because he'd love to see her and Christian suffer, but his old friend wasn't playing ball. The only number he could find for her, besides a home phone number she didn't answer, was a cell phone number that wasn't even in use anymore. Ray shook the thoughts from his head as he addressed Christian again, "Hand or knee?"

"What?" Christian croaked, confused by the question.

"This fucking guy" Ray laughed. "Let's try both" he suggested nonchalantly as he stabbed Christian through the hand, pining his hand to his knee.

"FUCK" Christian hissed in pain as the knife pierced the flesh on his hand and knee, blood spilling on to the floor.

"That was for Darby!" Ray yelled as he tossed the knife on a nearby counter and walked up the stairs.

* * *

"What is it baby girl?"

"Umm, Darby Sullivan killed herself two months after her father was killed."

"How?" JJ asked as she moved in closer to the computer.

"Overdose on barbiturates, but that isn't the only sad part. Guys, according to the autopsy Darby had elevated HcG levels. Medical records confirmed that she was seven weeks pregnant."

"WHAT?!" Morgan yelled as he choked on his cup of coffee. "Is, was Christian the father?"

"I don't know. It doesn't say."

"Are you sure baby girl?"

"Yes I'm sure" Garcia reiterated as JJ remained in a state of shock.

Christian Cavanagh had gotten another woman pregnant? A woman who also happened to be the daughter of James Sullivan. What was she going to tell Emily? Should she tell Emily or she wait for Christian to? Would he get a chance?

"Umm" JJ spoke up, trying to get out of her head. "Was there anyone who was especially close to Darby before her death? Anyone who might have some details for us?"

Garcia didn't respond and merely typed on her computer, searching for something, someone, who could clear up this web of lies. "Okay I found a roommate who lived with Darby the year after she dropped out of college up until her death. She and Darby also attended the same high school. Her name is Carmella Flowers and she lives in Dorchester, sending her address to your phones now."

"Thanks baby girl" Morgan offered as he turned to face JJ. "JJ…"

"Don't" JJ warned as Morgan furrowed his brow.

"Are we going to pretend that this is okay? Did he even tell Emily about any of this?"

"I don't know Morgan. Does it matter at this point?" JJ asked as she walked out of the hotel room towards the parking lot.

Morgan shook his head in disbelief as he followed her. "Does it even matter? I would say that getting some girl pregnant, a girl who happened to be the daughter of his mob boss, matters. And are we going to ignore that she died under suspicious circumstances. I mean why would a pregnant woman commit…"

"Derek you need to stop right there" JJ warned as they approached the SUV. "We don't know anything yet and it's a little soon for you to accusing Emily's ex-boyfriend of murder, so just stop" she ordered as she got into the passenger seat and prepared herself for interviewing Carmella Flowers, worried about what the woman was going to tell her. And even more worried about what she was going to have to tell her best friend, her pregnant best friend.

* * *

Hotch and Emily walked into the plain, concrete Cedar Junction interview room to find Donny McElroy already waiting for them. He was chained to the table, wearing the normal prison garb. He was overweight and looked to be in his early seventies, with a few slicked back grey hairs remaining on his pale head. He looked to Emily and gave her a quick smile, flashing his yellowed teeth.

"We need to talk to you about Jackie Kane" Hotch began as he and Emily sat on the cold metal chairs across from McElroy.

McElroy chuckled at the request, "Don't cunt around with me agent. I ain't fucking retarded. There ain't no Jackie and there ain't never been no fucking Jackie Kane, ever. He was a fucking undercover and you're worried about your fucking rat. Aren't you doll face?" he questioned as he turned to Emily, who remained emotionless. "I'll talk if you get me back my hour of outdoor time" he offered with a shrug.

Emily laughed at the request, "Did someone incorrectly tell you that you were on Let's Make A Deal? You're in prison McElroy, you have no cards left to play." Emily firmly stated as she crossed her hands on the table. "You lost your outdoor hour because you stabbed another prisoner in the yard…"

"He was a fucking Yankee's fan. What was I supposed to do? Throw him a fucking birthday party? This isn't fucking Make-A-Wish!" He yelled as Hotch hit the table to stop him from talking.

"Enough" he ordered as McElroy started laughing. "We need to know about Jackie Kane. How close was he to Jimmy Sullivan?"

"Close" McElroy answered. "I want my hour of outdoor time back and I'll talk."

Emily smiled at the man and shifted around in her chair to lean closer to McElroy as she calmly began to speak, "You know what Donald? You know why you haven't been killed or knifed like the rest of your boys? Because you're not a player anymore. You don't run anything anymore. Just like you never did when Jimmy was in charge, so they ignore you. You're irrelevant to them now. You're just an old man doing time for crimes you committed decades ago. However, and this is where things get interesting for both of us" She continued in a level tone as she lightly tapped on the table. "Everything is politics in this town and politics is _all_ about how things look. Now, how do you think it looks when you have contraband smuggled into prisons? It kinda defeats the purpose huh? It makes the management look stupid, clueless. And this place, this prison had more holes that the fucking Titanic and I'm sure the Warden is ready to have them plugged. So unless you start talking I'm going to spend everyday here, observing everything, trying to find the weak link in the prison. And I will find him. And then I will offer _him_ a deal to rat on who is smuggling what into this prison. Then, and this is where you come into play, I'm going to circulate it to all the guards that the rat was you and we'll see how the real players will deal with you then" Emily threatened as McElroy scowled. "So I am going to ask you again, and for your sake I do hope you answer. What can you tell me about Jackie Kane?"

"What do you want to know?" McElroy asked after a few moments of silence.

Hotch crossed his arms over his chest before he began "We need to know what happened approximately eight months before the Chinatown warehouse raid. What happened?"

McElroy started laughing at the question, "What happened? You really are a clueless motherfucker aren't you?"

"Answer the question" Hotch demanded with a glare.

McElroy rolled his eyes at the threat, "It's always you fucking Feds. You know that? About nine months before everything went to shit, Jimmy was approached by a few Jordan Marsh shopping fuckers who wanted him to turn informant. He wanted fucking Jimmy to testify against us for some kind of immunity. Jimmy had never been a fucking rat in his fucking life so he told those motherfuckers to go fuck themselves, but then as he's walking away those little shits tell him he needs their out of jail free card. He needs their deal because he's got a fucking undercover cop in crew."

"They said that?" Emily asked, now understanding why Christian didn't trust federal agents.

"Yes they fucking did sweetheart. So what does Jimmy do? He decides to take care of the mess himself. Funny enough, who does he ask to find the rat but the fucking undercover cop."

"He asked Kane?" Hotch inquired as McElroy nodded with a grin.

"He trusted him, treated him like a son, probably loved him more than his real boy. He told his son to treat Jackie like an older brother and the kid did. On top of all of that Jimmy wanted Jackie to marry Darby, may God rest her soul. He was grooming that cheese eating fuck…anyway Jackie says he can't find no rat. He says that the fucking Feds were playing us to get to Jimmy, but Ray, Jimmy's fucking retarded son said that he found the rat. He said the undercover was Fitzy Bryant. So Jimmy did what needed to be done."

"Which was?" Emily asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Jimmy was always one for putting on a show" McElroy chuckled. "One idea he had was to dip Fitzy in fucking Cheez Whiz and have rats gnaw him to death, but in the end he just set the fuck on fire" McElroy answered as he started laughing, the images making Emily's stomach turn. "He made Jackie watch for fucking up. And there's fucking Jackie trying to run towards the poor bastard. I think he was fucking crying. But Jimmy needed him to be a man if he was gonna take over."

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked as he looked over to Emily, who discretely took a deep breath to help overcome her urge to vomit.

"Jimmy had that fucking dick cancer…"

Emily rolled her eyes at the term, "You mean prostate cancer?"

"He was a good people, didn't deserve that…"

"Yeah, he sounds like a saint" Emily replied sarcastically as Hotch tried to suppress a small smile.

"Jimmy was gonna fucking die and didn't have much time. He took in Jackie like a son, he wanted him to take over the business. He wanted to give that Statie cocksucker his entire empire."

"And what about Jimmy's son Ray?" Emily asked as she leaned forward.

"Ray was a fucking idiot. He's the one that fucked everything up. Jimmy used to say that you could do a hundred things right and then make one mistake to fuck it all up. Jimmy's mistake was fucking that broad Dawn, gave him that stupid kid of his."

"Did Ray know that Jackie was going to take over when he father died?" Hotch inquired as he furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, he wasn't fucking thrilled about it either. Which is why everything got so fucked up. You see, those fucking Dagos from Providence were loaning out money to a few fucks in Dorchester. They were in our territory and they weren't delivering fucking cannolis! They were lowering the fucking interest rate. It didn't take Charles fucking Schwab to see that we were getting fucked over. So me and Jackie go to do a beat down to get some cash and someone squeals. We tell Jimmy and Jimmy says that the next time we see those fucks we beat the shit out of them, send them a message. We can kill 'em if we want but I felt it was kind of a waste. Why am I going to drive all the way out to the marsh to fucking dump a couple of those fuckheads? Anyway, fucking Ray finds out and decides that he's gonna prove that he can handle being a fucking king. So he takes a couple of his fucking retarded crackhead friends down to Providence to knock off a pawn shop that Fat Tony owns. Well it turns out that Fat Tony's son, Dom, was working there that day and Ray kills him. Which caused a bit of a problem."

Emily bit her bottom lip as she began to further piece together her theory, "Fat Tony was a capo?"

McElroy nodded, "the fucking cousin of the fucking Don. Jimmy's got fucking dick cancer and we've got the fucking Chinamen, Haitians, bean eaters, and those black fucks on our backs. We didn't need no fucking turf war with the fucking greasy meatball eating fuckers from Providence too. The only way that Jimmy could fix things was if he showed Fat Tony that the hit was done without his knowing and the only way to prove that was to…"

"Kill his son for overstepping" Hotch interjected as McElroy nodded.

"Jimmy couldn't do it. He couldn't fucking kill his own son. So he asked his other boy, the one who needed to be strong for the sake of what he built."

Emily briefly closed her eyes before speaking, "He asked Jackie."

"And he wouldn't fucking do it! He put it off and then, bam" McElroy stated as he banged on the table, "we're busted. Jimmy let's himself get killed in a shoot out so he wouldn't die in fucking prison and I wind up here. All because of that fucking son of his" McElroy remarked as he shook his head. "Both of Jimmy's boys fucked me over."

"Donny" Emily began as she again leaned forward to better face the man, "Did Ray know about what his father had asked Jackie to do?"

"The fucking prosecutor wanted Ray to turn on the rest of us, give testimony or some shit. He was soft and the DA knew it. The day after Jimmy's funeral he tells Ray everything that the rat had told them, everything, trying to show that we weren't fucking loyal to him. So yeah, he fucking knew. But even if that motherfucking attorney didn't say anything, it wouldn't take a fucking scientist to figure out what Jimmy was going to do, or he who he was going to ask to do it."

Emily and Hotch shared a look as they wordlessly left the interview room. There was no doubt that James Sullivan Jr., Ray, was their unsub. It was the only thing that made sense.

The only question was, where was Ray Sullivan?

**So now we know part of why Ray Sullivan hates Christian, but what else is involved? How Darby come into play?**

**Was Christian involved with Darby Sullivan, or is this a case of something else entirely? Any predictions? Think outside of the box.**

**Here's a hint, try to pick up on a bit of the subtext during the Penn Station scene in chapter 15.**

**Any Predictions? **


	28. He's Going Back to Providence

**Who was the father of Darby Sullivan's baby and why does Ray blame Christian?**

**Additionally, I received a PM about who I used as the physical inspiration for Christian Cavanagh. I feel like each reader can create how the OC characters look, but I used Brad Pitt in David Fincher's Se7en as my personal inspiration. If you like crime movies, and don't mind violent images, I would highly recommend it. **

Morgan and JJ exited their car and made their way off the Dorchester street down to the grey triple-decker's walkway, buzzing for Carmella Flower's apartment when they arrived at the front door. After a few moments without reply, JJ noticed an intercom system, "Miss Flowers, this is Special Supervisory Agent Jareau and Morgan. We needed to ask you a few questions about Darby Sullivan." After a few more minutes of waiting, both agents were relieved when they were buzzed up, walking up the two flights of stairs to get to the apartment.

"Why you asking about Darby now?" They heard a woman in a thick south Boston accent call through the door. "She's been fucking dead almost eight years."

"We just want to know about her connection to Jackie Kane" JJ answered as she looked to Morgan who just shrugged. A few seconds later they heard the locks open and the chain slide off the door as the woman opened it.

Carmella Flowers looked to be in her mid-twenties and had medium length blonde curly hair with hazel eyes. She was wearing a tube top with a short skirt, not quite appropriate for the weather. Her apartment was old and dingy, but looked to be somewhat tidy. However, the agents did notice fragments of white powder on the glass coffee table, but opted not to comment on it.

"What you want to know about Jackie?" Carmella asked with a sniffle as she sat down on her worn sofa.

JJ slowly sat down next to her, careful not to spook the woman. "We need to talk about his connection to Darby Sullivan. Do you know how intimately were they involved?"

"They weren't fucking if that's what you're asking" Carmella stated bluntly as she brushed out her wrinkled skirt.

"Are you sure?" Morgan asked as JJ glared at him.

"Yeah I'm sure. She would have told me" she answered as she looked over to JJ. "If you were fucking a guy like Jackie Kane wouldn't you be fucking bragging about it to all your girlfriends?"

JJ gave the younger woman a small smile instead of replying and redistricted the conversation, "What about Darby? Do you remember anything that happened before she committed suicide? Anything that could explain why she felt she couldn't go on?"

Carmella nodded and wrapped her arms around herself, looking like she was searching for some sort of comfort to cope with discussing the subject. "She uh, she wasn't like the rest of her fucking family. She was a fucking good person. Her brother and dad were a couple of junk bags, you know? Darby wasn't into that shit."

"Carmella what happened to Darby? Why did she commit suicide?" JJ asked again in a gentle voice, sensing that Carmella was holding something back from her and Morgan.

"She, uh, a few days after her father's funeral, of all the fucking times, she gets, you know, raped."

"She was raped?" JJ repeated as the suicide began to make more sense.

"Yeah."

"Did she report it?"

Carmella scoffed at the question, "I tried to tell her to, but she wouldn't do it. She wouldn't tell me who it was neither. I didn't know what to do for her. It was wicked fucked up you know?"

"Did she know who it was?" JJ asked as Carmella nodded in reply.

"She said she didn't, but I could tell she was lying. She totally knew the scumbag that fucking did it."

Morgan cleared his throat and asked the one question that he didn't want to, but needed to anyway. "Is there any chance it was Jackie Kane?"

"Fuck no!" Carmella yelled before JJ patted her knee to calm her down. "I'm sorry it's just, Jackie wasn't like that. I know he was undercover and shit and I should hate him for being a rat, but he was a fucking good guy. He would never do that. He was nice you know? He wasn't like all those other guys that fucked Darby with their eyes and tried to grope her and shit. He was fucking classy like that. He told her to go back to college and gave her books and shit like that. Three days before everything went down with her dad, Jackie leaves her this note. It's some fucking poem, and we were all excited about what it meant, but it was about kingdoms crumbling. It was hard shit and he had to explain it to us. He told her to get away from her fucking brother and father. He warned her. He didn't fucking have to but he did, he did that for her. And, and" Carmella teared up before she went on, "Darby was so in love with him. Okay? She was in fucking love with Jackie, and if he wanted her, he wouldn't have to rape her or nothing."

"Okay" JJ soothed as the other woman became more upset. "Carmella, who was Jackie closest to in Jimmy's crew?"

"Jimmy and Fendi" Carmella answered before closing her eyes. "And Darby's older brother Ray. Ray was fucking weirdly obsessed with Jackie."

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked as he crossed his arms.

"It was just weird. You know Jackie liked to quote from movies and always wore a blue Sox cap. So all of a sudden Ray starts doing that too. But even weirder was, okay Jackie had this St. Christopher's Medallion he always wore on a chain and then one day Ray gets one too. He never took it off. Like he was fucking in love with him or wanted to be him or some shit like that. Some of the other guys teased him about it and Ray would just say that they were brothers, that's what brothers do. But it was some fucking strange shit."

JJ glanced over to Morgan who just nodded in reply before speaking up, "One last thing Carmella. Do you remember anything else that didn't add up in the days leading up to Darby's death?"

Carmella wiped the tears from her eyes, as silence filled the small apartment. A few minutes passed before Carmella spoke up in a quiet voice, "It was mad weird. A few days before she died Darby told me she was pregnant. I said to get it taken care of, but she couldn't do it. But she also said she couldn't have it either. So I told her to give it to charity."

"You mean give it up to adoption?" JJ clarified as Carmella nodded.

"Yeah, but she said no one would want it because it would be retarded. I told her, 'Darby you ain't a fucking retard and you don't do drugs so why you think it's retarded?' But she said it would be and that's all she said before she killed herself. I guess the guy who did was a retard. Alls I know is the next day she sends me out to the packie and when I come back, she's fucking gone" she answered over a sob as JJ gave Morgan a pointed look.

"Thank you so much, you've been very helpful" JJ offered as she handed Carmella her card. "Please call me if you remember anything else" she added, rubbing the woman's back before the profilers left the apartment and walked into the hallway.

JJ waited for Morgan and turned to face him when he walked up to her. "So Christian wasn't the father."

"But Darby Sullivan knew who he was and she was probably protecting him."

JJ nodded at Morgan's theory before adding on to it. "Why would someone be so absolutely convinced that their baby was going to be developmentally disabled?" She asked knowingly.

"Because the child was a child of incest" Morgan surmised, shaking his head in disgust.

JJ nodded and sighed, "Darby Sullivan was raped by her brother wasn't she?"

"The St. Christopher's Medallion wasn't Jackie's only belonging that Ray had to have" Morgan answered as he took out his phone to call Hotch.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the team had finally gathered at the hotel room. After re-reading their findings, the team had become less and less hopeful about the outcome of the case, especially after Hotch and Rossi worked out a preliminary profile. Ray Sullivan was an obsessive paranoid sociopath with a God complex. Additionally, because he had already been to prison and all of his immediate family had died, he had no reason to live, which made him exceptionally dangerous.

"James Raymond Sullivan Jr., otherwise known as Ray Sullivan is definitely our unsub" Hotch began as the team listened intently. "Cavanagh is his stressor because he represents everything that Ray lost…" Hotch continued as Reid cut in.

"It appears as though Ray Sullivan is a classic beta male masquerading as an alpha male. He desperately craves the approval of those around him, especially his father, which made the appearance of Jackie Kane difficult for him. Jackie Kane is an outsider, and outsider who gets everything Ray ever wanted instantaneously. Which, in turn, creates this twisted relationship with Kane. One of jealously and hatred, but also of adoration and love…"

"Which is why it's so painful that the man he considered his brother betrayed him" Rossi filled in.

JJ flipped through Darby's medical examiner reports before speaking up, "So where does Darby fit in?"

"Jimmy wanted Darby to marry Christian and you mentioned that Carmella said Darby was in love with him" Emily answered as she thought back to her conversation with Donny McElroy. "Darby and Ray's mother died when they were very young, Jimmy doesn't seem like the nurturing type, and because of that Ray probably formed an unhealthy attachment to his sister. To see someone he views as belonging to him reject him for someone else would have triggered him. That coupled with the jealously over Christian's relationship with his father would start to create an intense hatred towards him."

"So are we thinking that Ray killed Darby?"

"No" Hotch answered the blonde as he crossed his arms. "Ray would have wanted to have the child with Darby. This is something he would have been excited by, but Darby's rejection of both him and their child pushed him over the edge. Unable to face rejection again, he probably justified that it was their father's death which caused her to kill herself, not the rape or pregnancy. This way he could blame Cavanagh for everything, everything meaning the loss of his former life, father, sister, and unborn child."

"I would guess that all along Sullivan never planned on living. His entire desire is to make Christian suffer as much as humanly possible. He wants him to suffer like he did, probably even worse. He'll probably be using torture to do so" Reid added as the team glared at him, making him shoot an apologetical look to Emily. He had forgotten that this was no ordinary case, he just tried to look at it unbiased. It was something that Emily didn't fault him for, but the new line of thinking still made her feel sick. As the rest of the team continued on in creating the profile, Emily tried to inconspicuously slip in to the bathroom, only to be followed by JJ.

"Fuck" she groaned as she emptied the contents of her stomach while JJ sat down on the floor behind her and began rubbing her back.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked as Emily merely waved the other woman off before vomiting again. "It's okay honey."

"Yeah this is pretty ideal" Emily replied sarcastically with a smirk.

JJ smiled as she got up to get Emily a glass of water, "Well at least the snark is still here."

The brunette laughed humorlessly as the comment, "It'll be here until the day I die."

"We're going to find him" JJ assured in a tender voice.

Emily covered her eyes with her hands and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "I just need five minutes. Okay?"

Understanding that Emily was still, well, Emily, JJ nodded and went to check the rest of the empty apartment.

Emily remained on the bathroom floor, unsure what exactly was making her sick, the smell of Morgan's hot dog, the baby, or the entire situation at hand. All she wanted was for Christian to be home, not his home but hers, theirs. She couldn't believe that she had been so idiotic. That she had been so worried about his judging her that she allowed herself to end the only relationship in her life that ever made her happy. All she wanted was a second chance. But the thing about second chances is that they are never certain, there are sometimes you get them and sometimes you just don't. Emily took a deep breath as she shook the thoughts from her mind and headed back to the team. This wasn't the time for self-pity. This was a time to find him.

* * *

"Okay" Hotch began as he stood up to address the team again. "Let's summarize what we have so far and try to establish where Ray would have taken Cavanagh."

Rossi glanced over to Emily before answering, with the brunette giving him a tired smile. "Christian goes undercover after graduating from the Academy. He is sent to Cedar Junction Prison, where he first makes contact with Jimmy Sullivan's gang."

"He rises in the gang and becomes Jimmy's right hand man, working only under Donny McElroy" JJ added.

"Ray starts to become obsessed with him and Darby Sullivan begins to harbor feelings for him. This simultaneous infatuation from both his father and sister leads Ray to become even more compulsive in his obsession with Christian, which causes him to imitate his habits" Reid cut in as the team nodded in agreement.

Morgan rubbed his eyes before he also added to the conversation, "Eight months before the operation ends a few federal agents try to make a deal with Jimmy Sullivan. In doing so they use an undercover asset as a selling point for their deal. However, Jimmy takes it upon himself to find the undercover, outsourcing it to Christian, who begins to have panic attacks and begs for the operation to end as a result. But his bosses don't comply and he has to sell it to Jimmy as the FBI lying to get their deal…"

"But in an effort to gain his father's trust and adoration, Ray fingers Fitzgerald "Fitzy" Bryant as the undercover trooper. After which, Jimmy kills him in front of Christian to make a point. But even though Christian made a mistake and it appeared that Ray found the undercover, Jimmy still favors Christian" Hotch cut in as he furrowed his brow.

Emily bit on her bottom lip before speaking up, as the team turned to face her. "It still didn't work, so Ray comes up with another plan when the mafia from Providence makes a move on their operation. The plan backfires when he accidentally kills Antonio DeMarco, Fat Tony's only son, Dominic Leonardo DeMarco, which causes a problem. Jimmy doesn't want to fight a turf war, so to make peace he has to prove that he didn't order the hit on Dom DeMarco, which means that he has to kill whoever stepped out of line, his only son. But he can't bring himself to do it so he asks Christian to."

"Christian can't, he ends the operation and warns Darby. Jimmy is killed in a shootout and Ray blames whoever set up his father. He has a hunch of who might have set him up and tries to take back what is rightfully his from the man who ruined everything, and rapes his sister. However, she rejects him and she kills herself, opting to die than have his baby. And he blames Christian for that too. He then finds out that Christian was supposed to kill him and he spends all his time in prison trying to find Jackie Kane's true identity" Morgan added as Garcia came on to the computer screen.

"Well my superstars I have a lot of information for you" Garcia began as she pulled up the various windows on her computer screen. "First, Ray Sullivan did not have the best time in prison. And by that I mean he was in the infirmary a lot and it seemed like a lot of inmates had grudges against Sullivan Sr. and took it out on Jr. So after still receiving death threats in solitary confinement, Sullivan was moved to Sing Sing in New York. But before he moved the prison records indicated that he had his first tattoo done. A scorpion…"

"Symbolically scorpions often mean transition in life but they can also mean death. It could be his new lease in life, transitioning into a new role as an agent of death" Reid filled in as Emily thoughts drifted to Christian's tattoos. The phoenix tattoo, which like the scorpion tattoo, symbolizes a rebirth. But in completely different ways, perfectly illustrating the difference between the two men. And then there was Christian's beloved Chinese proverb, 'He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves; one for his enemy and one for himself.'

"Well" Garcia continued on, "Ray Sullivan was let out of prison almost a year ago. He requested to have his parol moved to Providence, Rhode Island which was declined so he stayed in New York until ten months ago. And that's when he drops off the face of the earth. There are no records of him, no way to track where he would taken Christian. But because I am the Oracle of Knowledge I found out that Fat Tony DeMarco and his mistress, Lorraine Delvecchio, were both killed eight months ago. Lorraine Delvecchio was shot in the bathtub execution style, but Fat Tony was shot in the chest and the head" Garcia informed the team before grimacing. "According to the police reports, Tony's left ring finger was missing from his body and a King of Diamonds playing card was found in his shirt pocket, which was Jimmy Sullivan's signature interestingly enough."

Emily ran her fingers through her hair as she responded in an assured tone, "He's cleaning house, getting revenge on everyone he thinks betrayed him. Christian is his stressor and he's going to take him where he feels the betrayal began. He's going back to Providence. This has always been about what happened in Providence."

Hotch nodded as he walked over to the computer screen, "Garcia I need you to find any Providence real estate that Ray Sullivan would have access to. It would have to be either a warehouse or a single family home. He would need privacy."

"Gotcha" Garcia replied as she began typing on her computer as the rest of the team just had to sit and wait, hoping that she could find something before it was too late.

The minutes passed by at an excruciating slow pace, with Emily nervously picking at her nails. She winced in pain as one began to bleed, the sound garnering the attention of JJ, who handed her a tissue and moved to hold her hand. JJ knew exactly how Emily was feeling, she was feeling the same way the team did when she was missing. Except, it was somehow worse, because there was so much unsaid that Emily needed to tell Christian and she may never get the chance.

"I have something" Garcia excitedly remarked, cutting into the silence.

"What is it baby girl?"

"Ray Sullivan has an eighty year old great-aunt who lives Providence's Washington Park. The house has a large yard, a garage and a basement."

"Send us that address and the floor plans to our tablets" Hotch ordered as the team started strapping on their Kevlars. The unit chief quickly glanced over to Emily, who just nodded in response. It was an unspoken agreement. She would head out with the team, but stay in the SUV. She would not be entering into the home. "Garcia make sure that you have an ambulance on stand by" Hotch concluded as he led the team out of the room, with JJ giving Emily a discrete reassuring squeeze on the hand as they headed out to the single black SUV. They had found where Christian was being held. The only question was, what state would he be found in?

**Congrats to the reader Sera who figured out the little twist on who was the father of Darby's unborn child. Now as for the Penn Station hint, the subtext I was referring to was how Ray seemed infatuated with the ticket taker who resembled Emily, who in turn, resembled Darby, as Sergeant O'Rourke pointed out. This pointed to Ray's unhealthy obsession with his sister. Also the beeping connected to the fact that Ray was in prison, where the inmates are often directed by buzzing and beeping noises.**

**Will Emily find Christian in time or will this be my first major character death fic?****  
**

**Predictions?**


	29. I Wanna Talk to Agent Prentiss

**I know I say this a lot but I truly mean it, thanks so much for all the reviews. It really helps me stay motivated and post daily, so keep them coming. **

**This chapter has more psychological games than action, but, for once, Emily might not find herself in control of said games. Additionally, I'll warn that there is VERY strong language in this chapter. I will also warn that chapter might have some feels. **

Ray Sullivan cracked his fingers as he walked down the basement steps, a bottle of scotch in one hand and a gun in his back pocket. "Trooper Fuckhead" he called as Christian heard the footsteps approaching.

"Officer fuckface was funnier. This shit sounded a little forced" Christian remarked with a shrug. "You need to learn to quit while you're ahead."

"So how you wanna fucking do this? You want some for old time's sake?" Ray offered as he shook a small bag of what looked to be cocaine. "Sorry I don't have any of your high fucking roller pills. But don't think I forgot how you got fucking dirty with coke and that waitress at fucking ninety-nine…"

"Should have called that shit hole the fucking sixty-nine" Christian joked, attempting to remind Ray of the old times, hoping that he might extend some sort of forgiveness.

"Yeah, well I swiped a bunch of this shit off Fat Tony's whore when I put a bullet in their brains. It's not as good as our old stuff. Dad sure knew how to take care of his boys" Ray informed Christian as he dipped a small cocaine spoon into the powder and snorted it into his left nostril.

"All that fucking coke and that asshole still weighed 300 fucking pounds…"

"Yeah" Ray laughed, "it's called fucking portion control fat ass."

"That cannoli eating motherfucker probably blamed it on a glandular problem" Christian quipped as Ray laughed even harder.

"I forgot how fucking funny you were you donut-eating cocksucker" Ray complimented as he pointed to Christian and sat down on a lawn chair across from his old friend. "It's a real fucking shame that, you know? It's a fucking shame that I'm gonna have to blow your brains out, or guts if you're into that."

"Do you want to know why Ray?" Christian asked as Ray brought the spoon to his other nostril and finished with a swig of scotch. "Do you want to know why your father trusted me more than you?" He took the silence as a response, "It wasn't just because you were fucking weak, which you are. It was because you always took things so goddamn personal. Sometimes the business is just about the fucking money and you never saw that. That's why you fucked up in Providence, because you never fucking thought about a single thing before you did it. You never thought in terms of repercussions. You just did shit and hoped that fucking Jimmy could fix it for you. But what the fuck were you going to do when fucking Jimmy was dead? What then? And don't even get my started on fucking Providence. Did you honestly think you could fucking whack Dom fucking DeMarco and no one would fucking notice? That his fucking father wouldn't notice that some poor bastard's fucking pawned wedding china was stained with his son's fucking brain matter? What did you think? Did you think they would think it was fucking marina sauce?"

Ray shook his head like a petulant child, "I did what I had to…"

"No, you did what you fucking wanted to" Christian scolded with an eye roll. "Jimmy did what he had to you and you know it" he firmly added as he stared at Ray intensely. "And what the fuck do you think is going to happen now Ray? You think you're going to get away with killing a motherfucking State Police Lieutenant? You think you're going to fucking walk away after this? You don't think that in five seconds of opening up my undercover records a fucking officer trainee would figure out that you were the one who pulled this shit?"

"And this your problem Jackie" Ray began bitterly as he wiped his nose. "You just think you know everything and you don't realize that I don't give a shit. You took away every fucking reason I have to live, except one. So I'm going to enjoy the only thing that will make my life worth it. I'm going to watch you die in front of me like you fucking deserve" he quietly stated before getting louder, "What?! You think you could just walk away? Go play cop with some rich FBI bitch? Is that what you fucking think?! You're fucking Southie, asshole, and that ain't gonna fucking change no matter how many books you read or colleges you fucking go to. Stop acting all superior like you ain't grown up the same way as all those other motherfuckers sitting in fucking Cedar Junction did" Ray ranted as he stood up from the chair. "You're just scared because I fucking know you. I know that you were more Jackie Kane than you were ever Christian fucking Cavanagh. And I want you to fucking remember that when I shoot you in your fucking stomach and you're full of shit, literally" he threatened while Christian shook his head emphatically.

"Go fuck yourself" Christian shot back with a smirk before adding, "But use your left hand this time, righty must be developing fucking arthritis by now."

Ray's body visible tensed as he tried to ignore the snide remark, "Do you know why I never was into reading fucking books?"

"Because you're an illiterate ignorant prick" Christian laughed as Ray glared at him.

"Because I just always had to skip to the fucking end" Ray answered as he removed the gun from the back of his pants and lifted it to point at Christian.

"Don't you fucking do it Ray…"

"What you fucking scared?" Ray accused with a smile. "You're fucking scared aren't you? If Darby could fucking see you now."

Christian inhaled sharply as he tried to process the words Ray had just uttered. This didn't make sense, what did this have to do with Darby? This was about Providence and Jimmy right? He never touched Darby, even though he knew she wanted him to. He never was never involved with her.

"Is this about Darby? I didn't fuck Darby! Okay?! I never touched fucking Darby!" Christian defended.

"You turned her against me!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Christian asked, thoroughly confused by what Ray meant. "What do you mean? I don't get what you're talking about…"

Ray gestured wildly as he answered the other man, "YOU FUCKING TURNED HER AGAINST ME! SHE FUCKING WANTED YOU AND NOT ME! SHE FUCKING KILLED OUR BABY!"

"What baby?"

"AND IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT!" Ray screamed before getting eerily quiet. "So I'm going to take yours away from you…"

"Fuck you, you incestuous prick. We're from Boston not a fucking foreign film."

"No one ain't fucking talking to you cocksucker…"

Christian scoffed at the argument, "First, who the fuck else you talking to? The fucking Ghost of Christmas past? There is no one else fucking here Ray. This is some A Beautiful Mind shit here, except you're a fucking moron. And 'No one ain't?' I guess you didn't make use of those fucking GED courses at fucking Cedar Junction did you, you dumb fuck?"

"I LOVED HER!"

Christian's face contorted in disgust at the claim, "You were her fucking brother Ray. You were her fucking brother…"

"And you were supposed to be mine" Ray interjected in a venomous voice. "Now remember _Christian_, this is going to fucking hurt" he calmly stated as he pulled back the slide on the barrel of the gun, gently placing his finger on the trigger. "You know what? I forgot something" he added as Christian felt a short sense of relief while Ray duck taped his mouth and reached into his jacket pocket to take out the cell phone from earlier. "Enjoy this Jackie, I know I will" he taunted as he pressed send.

"Queen of the All-Knowing speak and be recognized" Garcia cheerfully answered on the other end of the line.

"This is Ray Sullivan, I wanna talk to Agent Prentiss" Ray grinned as he winked at Christian who started fighting the restraints on the chair. "Tell her she might be interested in what I got for her."

* * *

After calling the local police, the team obtained a search warrant for Ray Sullivan's great-aunt, Gwen Coughlin's Providence home. Hotch was able convince the local Homicide division Captain that the team could help with solving the Tony DeMarco and Lorriane Delvecchio murders. The only complication was going to be informing Strauss about how they happened upon this new case, but Hotch and Rossi opted to worry about that later. Maybe Morgan's assistance with Strauss' personal struggles would come in handy.

The team was about ten minutes from the house when Hotch addressed them, "JJ and Morgan, you'll enter through the front door of the property and clear second level of the house. Rossi, Reid, and I will take the back door and lower levels. Everyone needs to stay vigilant, and we'll breach in unison…"

"Garcia said our standby ambulance has a 15 minute ETA" JJ cut in after getting a text from the worried technical analyst.

"And Prentiss?" Morgan asked as he turned to face Emily, who was absent-mindedly gazing out the window, noticeably trying to stop herself from picking at her fingernails by sitting on her hands.

"Prentiss will stay the car and watch the property, she'll also notify Garcia to call in local backup when we radio in that we've apprehended Ray Sullivan" Hotch answered the younger man as he gave him a warning look that showed that the decision was not up for discussion.

"Fine" Morgan huffed as he raised his hands in surrender and looked over to Reid, who was sitting next to him in the SUV's middle row, with the genius merely offering a shrug. It was odd that Emily wouldn't being going on a raid. Her and Morgan were always the first to kick the door, the first to run into a precarious situation. It was just out of character that Emily Prentiss would voluntarily sit out on an infiltration, especially if it involved someone she cared about, or claimed to care about anyway.

"Hotchner" Hotch answered as he put his phone on speaker phone and handed it to Rossi to hold.

"Hotch it's me. Ray Sullivan called me at the BAU, he wants me to put Emily on the phone" Garcia answered as the team turned to look at Emily, who took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip.

"What did you tell him?"

"I didn't him anything. I just said I'd try to find her."

Hotch sighed as he kept his eyes focused on the road, "Okay good. Put the call through" he ordered before addressing Emily in an authoritative manner. "Prentiss, Ray Sullivan's compulsion is going to motivate him to make Cavanagh suffer like he did. He lost a romantic partner, even though she was an unwilling one, and a child. He wants to take the same away from Cavanagh. Do not play into his fantasy. It puts you and Cavanagh in further danger. Ray cannot feel like he is fulfilling his desire for revenge, if he does he will kill him on the spot. There would be no reason to keep Cavanagh alive any longer. As difficult as this may be, you need to ensure that Ray feels the need to prolong Cavanagh's suffering. It's our only shot of getting there in time. The longer Cavanagh suffers the better chance we have of finding him alive. Do you understand that?"

"Yes" Emily firmly replied as she tried to compose herself.

"You cannot break down, you cannot show any weakness. You cannot give any declarations of love, he'll feed off of it. He'll execute him on the spot to exploit those feelings if you make them known. You need to remain unaffected so he will feel that he must attain the level of torture he desires from other means. You just need to buy us fifteen minutes."

"I know" Emily replied as Hotch's phone began ringing again with Rossi passing it back to Emily.

"Keep it on speaker phone" Hotch ordered with Emily merely nodding in reply.

"Prentiss" she answered as Ray's face lit up in excitement as he put the phone on speaker and ripped the duck tape off Christian's mouth.

"Hang up the phone Emily! Hang up the fucking phone!" Christian ordered as Ray hit him in the temple with the butt of his gun. "Fuck…"

"Shut the fuck up you fucking scum! Agent Prentiss…"

"Yeah?" Emily asked in an uninterested tone as the team observed her rigid body language.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No" Emily lied as she stared down at her shoes. "Who are you?"

"I'm the guy who has your boyfriend."

"I'm not involved with anyone whose missing."

Ray shook his head in a disappointed manner, "Jackie Kane! You know him as Christian fucking Cavanagh. Why the fuck haven't you come looking for Jackie yet? I thought you were supposed to be hot shit?"

"I didn't know he was missing" Emily answered coldly as Christian closed his eyes. He was right all along, no one even noticed he was gone. But maybe it was going to be easier this way, not so painful when it came time to finally let go. "We're not together anymore" Emily concluded as she quietly took a deep breath while JJ patted her knee.

Ray sat down on a lawn chair across from Christian as he laughed, "All this time you're trying to protect this bitch, and she doesn't give a shit about you Jackie." He provoked as Christian just kept his eyes focused on the grey concrete floor. "Hey Agent Prentiss, do you like to keep secrets?"

Emily leaned her head against the car window as she tried to control her breathing, "Hmmm?"

"You do don't you? Because I just don't get why didn't you tell Jackie about your being fucking knocked up and all? You know it has just been killing both of us. Is it Jackie's?"

Emily slightly swallowed as Reid and Morgan finally understood why Emily was sitting out the raid. "Is what Christian's?"

"I just fucking told you, your fucking baby" Ray growled. "Is the fucking bastard his?"

Emily watched Hotch shake his head in the rearview mirror and briefly closed her eyes, desperately trying to remain apathetic towards Christian's emotional torment. How could she do this to him? It wasn't fair. All she wanted to do was tell him the truth, but she wanted to protect him and their unborn child more. She knew Hotch was right. If Ray Sullivan found out the truth he would just execute Christian and try to escape, intending to spend all his time targeting her. So she did the only she could in the situation, she lied.

"Is it his?" Ray questioned again in a stern tone as Emily shook her head.

"No."

Ray burst into another fit of laughter at the answer as Christian took a deep breath and tried to look off to the side, attempting to hide the tears caused by the confirmation that Emily had completely moved on from him in just three months. "Oh Jackie you poor fuck. Can't fucking get it up can you?" Ray jeered with a satisfied grin. "Well Agent cunt, consider yourself very lucky because your sluttery has saved your fucking child…"

"Shut the fuck up you piece of shit!" Christian ordered as Ray shook his head and gave him a confused look. "If you fucking touch her I'll fucking…"

"You'll what? You're going to be fucking dead in like half an hour Jackie. What the fuck you gonna do? How do you not get this? I am going to fucking shoot you. Now where, where is the fucking question" Ray stated as Emily clutched the phone so hard that her knuckles turned white. "But first, say your goodbyes to your fucking federal fuck so we can get started. SAY THEM!" He ordered as he fired off a warning shot.

"No" Christian responded as Ray grabbed the knife and stabbed him on the top of the shoulder. "Shit" Christian hissed in pain as Emily shut her eyes and gazed out the window at the landscape quickly moving by. Hotch must have been driving impossibly faster, which meant they were running out of time.

"I'm sorry" She offered in a quiet voice, with Christian assuming she was apologizing about moving on, and he didn't want her to. He just wanted her to be happy, and it was probably better this way. It was better that she was with someone who was safe, better that she loved someone who was going to be around to watch their child grow up.

"It's okay" he responded in a voice barely above a whisper. "I'm happy for you."

"Don't you lie to her Jackie!" Ray cut in. "Don't you fucking do that! I can see your fucking tears you pussy."

Emily shook her head as she tried to keep her composure. Ray wasn't going to get that satisfaction of breaking them. She wasn't going to give in, she wasn't going to let him execute Christian. She and the team were so close. They had to make it. This couldn't be another Haley. The universe couldn't be so cruel right? Emily pinched the bridge of her nose before speaking up again, unsure of what was safe for her to say or not, "There are so many things I should I have told you."

"I know" Christian responded in a defeated voice as he took a deep breath. "I'm, I'm just really glad I met you."

"I am too" Emily replied as her voice slightly cracked while she brought her left hand up to cover her eyes.

"You were happy for a while right?" He hopefully asked as Emily blinked away the tears that had finally escaped, not caring if the team saw them or not.

"Yes" Emily firmly replied as she tightly held on to the car's grab handle with the team watching her, Morgan especially becoming more and more visibly irate.

Christian scanned the cold basement, immediately shivering as he felt Ray's gun caressing his cheek, "I saw them…I saw the Cherry Blossoms."

"How? It's not April yet."

"I can work fucking Google images" Christian laughed as his vision clouded with unshed tears, "I'm not a fucking moron."

"Well that's debatable" Emily teased with a small smile.

"I want, I need you to promise me that you won't blame yourself for this. Okay? This isn't your fucking fault." Emily nodded as silence filled the car. "I need you to say it."

"This isn't my fault."

"I hope you really believe that" Christian added with a sigh before briefly pausing, "And I hope you found what you're looking for… and I'm sorry that I couldn't…" he drifted off as JJ felt her heart break for the man, unable to imagine what Emily was going through.

"I need you to know" Emily began as she cleared her throat and thought of the perfect words to say. The words that wouldn't register with Ray or anyone else, but would convey so much to him, "'There is something that holds us together, something that has no word.'"

Christian swallowed a few tears that threatened to fall and bit his bottom lip to hide a smile after hearing the words. "'That is too short a word for such a long thing'" he finished as a small smile crept on Emily's face. Because he got it, he understood.

"This is real fucking great and all, but Agent, I would say your time for goodbyes is up" Ray informed them as he raised his gun again. "What part of him do you want?"

"What?" Emily asked, knowing where Ray was headed with this question.

"Do you want his ring finger or the heart tattoo. Which one was that for again Jackie? Your dead mommy?" Ray taunted as Christian refused to look at him. "ANSWER ME!"

"Yes" Christian croaked.

"You know what Agent, I'll send you both. Don't worry, I already have the fucking address…" Ray drifted off before Christian interrupted him.

"Emily, I'm, I'm so sorry" Christian whispered in a voice full of emotion as Ray shook his head in frustration.

"SHUT UP!" Ray ordered before taking the phone off speaker phone and addressing Emily for the last time. "Final question cocksucker, stomach or head?"

Emily tilted her head in confusion, "W-what?"

"You know what? I choose…" he drifted off as a gunshot echoed through the basement before hanging up the phone.

A few moments of complete silence passed, the gentle humming of the SUV running the only discernible sound, before Emily finally spoke again.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick" She choked out as she leaned forward in her seat, resting her elbows on her knees, holding her head in her hands as she finally allowed herself to break down. JJ swallowed her own tears as she moved to soothingly rub the other woman's back, futilely trying to help her friend as the team tried not to listen to her quiet sobs, unsure of what to do to or say to help.

Because what can really help someone in a time like that?

**Should we do a double update day to find out what happened to Christian?**

******I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I listen to your reviews…**


	30. A Fatality

**Double update day. **

**Did Emily and the team make it in time? Will Emily have a chance to talk with Christian?**

"I need you to know" Emily began as she cleared her throat and thought of the perfect words to say. The words that wouldn't register with Ray or anyone else, but would convey so much to him, "'There is something that holds us together, something that has no word.'"

Christian swallowed a few tears that threatened to fall and bit his bottom lip to hide a smile after hearing the words. "'That is too short a word for such a long thing'" he finished as a small smile crept on Emily's face. Because he got it, he understood.

"This is real fucking great and all, but Agent, I would say your time for goodbyes is up" Ray informed them as he raised his gun again. "What part of him do you want?"

"What?" Emily asked, knowing where Ray was headed with this question.

"Do you want his ring finger or the heart tattoo. Which one was that for again Jackie? Your dead mommy?" Ray taunted as Christian refused to look at him. "ANSWER ME!"

"Yes" Christian croaked.

"You know what Agent, I'll send you both. Don't worry, I already have the fucking address…" Ray drifted off before Christian interrupted him.

"Emily, I'm, I'm so sorry" Christian whispered in a voice full of emotion as Ray shook his head in frustration.

"SHUT UP!" Ray ordered before taking the phone off speaker phone and addressing Emily for the last time. "Final question cocksucker, stomach or head?"

Emily tilted her head in confusion, "W-what?"

"You know what? I choose…" Ray drifted off as an gunshot echoed through the basement before hanging up the phone, shooting Christian in the abdomen. "That was fun and all but when I said I wanted you to fucking suffer, I fucking meant it" Ray stated as Christian groaned in pain as he tried to fiddle with the restraints to apply pressure to his newest injury, gasping in pain with each moment as a pool of blood began to collect on the floor beneath him. "And your little 'she loves me she loves me not' bullshit wasn't going to cut it."

* * *

"We're in position" Hotch communicated over the mics while at the back door of the Gwen Coughlin's Providence home. The unit had arrived five minutes after the phone call had ended, and they had hoped that they had made it in time. The rest of the car ride had been in complete silence, save for the sound of Emily's muffled sniffles. Emily had never cried over a man before, but there was a first time for everything.

"Copy that" JJ responded as she glanced to Morgan who stepped closer to the door.

"Breach in 3,2,1…" he ordered as both he and Morgan simultaneously kicked in the doors, while Emily waited apprehensively in the car. This was the part she hated the most, waiting on the sidelines while the rest of her team was in the field. She felt useless as the situation at hand was completely out of her control. All she wanted was a chance to tell Christian that she was lying on the phone. All she wanted was to tell him the truth, because he deserved the truth. He deserved to know that she still loved him, that she never stopped.

Morgan and JJ ran up the stairs to the second level as Hotch, Reid, and Rossi cautiously checked the back sunroom area, until they reached the kitchen. Rossi signaled to Hotch, pointing over to a door that led to the basement. Hotch checked the lock, finding the door to be unlocked as Rossi started down the stairwell first.

Meanwhile, JJ and Morgan cleared the top floor room by room until finding a distinct odor coming from one of the bathrooms, only to discover the decomposing body of Gwen Coughlin submerged in a tub.

"Fuck" Morgan mumbled as he covered his nose with his free hand.

"This body's been here for a while" JJ quietly stated as Morgan nodded.

"Top level clear" he radioed in, not hearing a response back. However, after sharing a confused look the two heard a loud gunshot and immediately began running downs towards the stairs.

The loud disturbance was also heard in the car by Emily, who briefly internally debated what to do before flinging open the door and running towards the house with her gun drawn.

* * *

Rossi quietly tiptoed down the stairs leading to the basement, with Reid and Hotch following right behind him. The house was eerily quiet, making it imperative that the profilers carefully moved down each step, ensuring that they made no noise as they made their way to where Ray was keeping Christian. They knew that Ray Sullivan didn't care about dying, he only cared about killing Christian, which made the element of surprise vital. Rossi briefly stopped as he heard a quiet humming coming from the basement. He was almost at the final step and could see the shadows of two seated men when Morgan's communication came in, tipping off Ray Sullivan.

"Top level clear."

Hearing the voice, Ray jumped out of his chair and pointed his gun towards Christian's head as a single shot rang out, the sound making Christian cringe in expectation as Ray's body dropped down to the ground, a bullet from Rossi's gun piercing his skull. "Suspect dead, what's the status on those ambulances?" Rossi asked as he ran over to check Ray Sullivan's pulse as Hotch and Reid rushed to Christian, who had blood pouring out of his stomach wound. Hotch was minority relieved when he found a very faint pulse coming from the man who was struggling to breathe.

"Reid what do we do?!" Hotch inquired in a stern voice as he gingerly grabbed the knife from Christian's shoulder and began to cut the ropes off the younger man's body.

"Umm, get him out the chair, it's putting too much pressure on the wrong angle of the wound. We need to get him on his back and compress the wound" Reid answered as Morgan and JJ ran into the room.

"Morgan help me with this. JJ call Garcia, we need those medics now!" Hotch firmly ordered as he and Morgan gently laid Christian onto the floor, prompting him to loudly gasp in pain.

"What fuck you doing Morgan?" He groaned as Morgan starting applying pressure on the gunshot wound. "Please, ju-just stop" he pleaded as the intense pain radiated through his body.

"I'm sorry Chris" Morgan offered as the blood started to seep from Christian's mouth. "You're going to be okay. Okay?"

"He has an exit wound, it's a good sign" Reid offered as he helplessly stood by while the team's stoic unit chief took off his tie and wrapped Christian's bloody hand in it.

"He's bleeding out Reid, how the fuck is this a good sign?!" Morgan yelled as he applied more pressure on Christian's wound, causing the other man to loudly hiss again in pain as his breathing became rapid. "Hey Christian we're going to get your out of here okay? We got you."

"At least the bullet isn't moving around in his body cavity!" Reid answered in a frantic voice. "Otherwise it could destroy his internal organs. In fact, the majority of…"

"Shut up Reid!" the team yelled as Christian rolled his eyes.

"Who the fuck is this kid? Fucking Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman?" Christian complained as Hotch couldn't help but smile as the team heard someone running down the stairs, turning and hoping it was the paramedics only to discover it was Emily instead.

"Fuck" she mumbled as she ran over to Christian's side. "Christian, shit, you're going to be okay" Emily reassured him as she sat beside Morgan and started wiping the sweat from his brow, intertwining on one her hands with his. "You're going to be fine."

"Emily?"

"Yeah Christian I'm here. I'm here. You're okay. You're going to be completely fine" She reiterated in a soft tone as she pressed one hand against his bleeding shoulder. She was acutely aware of how much pain he was in as he began to breath even more erratically, his body going into shock. "Can you tell me your name?"

Christian scoffed at the question, "I was shot...I don't have fucking Alzheimer's" he quipped as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Christian" Emily chided as Morgan noticed the blood was still flowing freely out of the younger man's body and, in response, pressed down harder on the wound, making Christian grunt and tear up in agony.

"Fucking…Ray…shot…me" he informed her as she offered him a small smile.

"I know" she replied as she moved the hand from his shoulder and cupped his check, the blood that was escaping from his mouth spreading onto her palm. After a few brief moments of silence, she felt his grip start to loosen on her hand. "No! No, you're not allowed to fucking give up okay? You're the most stubborn person I know…"

"Most?" he interjected with a small laugh that made him wince in pain before causing a coughing spell.

"Okay second most" she conceded with a chuckle as the team watched on, feeling guilty about watching the private moment between the former couple. "You can't fucking make me love you and leave me okay? You can't do that to me. That's a real dick move" she ordered as his eyes started to flutter closed.

"Yeah…I-I sh-should have warned you….about how…fucking lovable…I am" he teased in a broken sentence.

"You're not even likable" Emily laughed bitterly as she thought back to the first time he told her he loved her.

"This…fucking…hurts" he choked out softly as Emily rubbed her eyes in frustration.

"I know…"

"Stupid…f-fucking…Ray" he complained as he started to choke on his blood.

"Stop talking" Emily gently ordered as she continued to wipe off his face with her blood covered hands, crimson smearing against his paling skin as she made even more of a mess.

"JJ WHERE ARE THOSE FUCKING PARAMEDICS?!" Morgan yelled as he readjusted his hands on the abdomen wound, Christian's blood still leaking through the gaps between his fingers.

"Garcia said they should be here any minute" JJ replied as she ran her hands through her hair, unsure of what to do.

"Christian wake up!" Emily ordered as Morgan applied more pressure on the wound, making Christian eyes briefly open. "I need you to know that I lied okay? I lied on the phone about everything. I didn't meant any of it."

He swallowed lightly as the pain began to subside, "I get it" he offered apologetically as the paramedics stomped down the stairs and rushed Emily and Morgan away to began working on the man.

Emily moved back from the stretcher as the paramedics hastily ran Christian up the stairs, yelling to each as they did so. But she didn't hear any of it. None of the words they uttered made impressions on her, the phrases, "not breathing," "septic," and "bleeding out" not even registering in her mind. Christian dying wasn't an option. It wasn't a matter of needing him to do anything. She didn't _need _him to live her life, and she didn't technically _need_ him to raise their child. But she wanted him. She wanted him because he was Christian Cavanagh, and there wasn't any other explanation that she had. Because it was just as simple as that, no matter how complicated she had made things, when it came down to it, it was simple.

She wanted _him_.

* * *

Emily was leaned over in her seat, her arms crossed and laid on her knees while she rested her head against the seat in front of her. It was only after registering the soothing movements of JJ's fingers moving up and down her back that Emily noticed the floor, realizing that she was sitting in the back seat of the black SUV. She wasn't even sure how she had made it back to the car as she rubbed her tired eyes with her still blood-stained hands and moved to face JJ.

"Hey" the blonde offered with a small smile.

"Did I pass out or something?" Emily questioned she noticed they were parked in the hospital parking lot, confused by how long they had been there.

"No" JJ answered before the tiniest of smiles crept on her face, "Reid described this as a fluke state."

Emily rolled her eyes at the statement, "Typical genius." A certain uncomfortable quiet filled the car before Emily spoke up again, "Christian, is he?"

JJ shook her head, "They're cautiously optimistic, but they say to prepare yourself for the worst. Whatever that's supposed to mean" she offered with a sigh as Emily nodded. "But you know how doctors are, they always say stuff like that. Morgan said he'd call if they heard anything, we just, we figured it might be easier for you in you had a little bit of privacy."

"Thanks" Emily replied before taking a calming deep breath. She had enough of having her emotions on display for everyone to see.

"How are you?"

Emily shrugged at the question, "How would you be?"

"A mess" JJ admitted as Emily softly chuckled. "And the baby?"

"I haven't heard any complaints," she answered with an eye roll as JJ snorted at her friend's ever-present snark.

The vehicle became silent again for a few minutes before JJ spoke up again, "You don't have to tell me, but what did you say to each other, on the phone? What did it mean?"

"Reid didn't tell you?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I didn't ask. I wanted to know from you."

"It's from _Back to Methuselah_" Emily inhaled sharply as she mindlessly rested her hands on her stomach, running her fingers over her still flat abdomen. "It's a play written by George Bernard Shaw, Christian loves him. In one of its quotes the biblical Eve tells Adam that she doesn't want him to die before her and she doesn't know how to describe it. He replies to her, 'there is something that holds us together, something that has no word.' But the serpent informs them both that there is a word for it, it's 'love.' And Adam responds, 'That is too short a word for so long a thing.'"

"That's really beautiful Em" JJ softly said as she took her friend's hand into her own.

"I just, if it was going to be goodbye…"

"It won't" JJ interrupted with a firm mothering tone.

Emily opted against arguing and merely nodded, quietly repeating JJ's words. "It won't."

"So" JJ began before laughing, "Christian called Spence 'Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman' when…" The blonde started as Emily's laughter cut her off.

"He said what?"

"Yeah, there's poor Spence, who's an absolute mess, spewing all these facts about Christian's odds and Christian just looks to Hotch and says, 'Who the fuck is this kid, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman?' And then Hotch starts smiling, like the full Hotchner smile complete with dimples" JJ added as the laughter in the car continued.

"Oh God" Emily chuckled as she shook her head, "Only Christian."

"Only Christian" JJ repeated with a nod.

"What a dick" Emily teased as the two started laughing again.

**The reader "Anon" called it. I just couldn't kill Christian, and I'm glad no one else wanted that either because I truly felt that it wouldn't serve this story well, although I did briefly debate it. However, while ****I didn't want to do a sappy love story, I think there's been enough drama/crime/mystery to warrant a few lighter moments. What would you say?**

**The next chapter Emily opens up to Christian as the two try to get back on track. **

**Additionally, because you all have been so great I'm leaving it up to you to decide how we end this. We can either do an epilogue immediately after the next chapter and end the story there OR skip around in a time for a few more Emily/Christian chapters before doing an epilogue. Which would you prefer to read?**

**Let me know in the reviews section. I'll do what the majority of readers request. Let your voice be heard. **


	31. The Time Has Come

**This chapter is a little long, but mainly because I couldn't find a place to naturally split it in half. **

**Additionally, I do read and take note of your reviews so we're going to so a few more light/comedic chapters with Emily and Christian before an epilogue. I'm thinking about the future chapters possibly including meeting the Ambassador, a special delivery, a bachelorette party and maybe a wedding.**

**Are there any scenes in particular that you would like to see? Let me know in your reviews and maybe I will include them amongst the other ideas I'm working with. **

It had taken eleven excruciating hours, but the surgeons were finally able to able to stabilize Christian and get all the bleeding under control. Fortunately for him, since Ray Sullivan had shot him at such close range, the bullet didn't mushroom in his body, which would have destroyed his internal organs. As a result, the surgeons were confident that he would make a full recovery and that no permanent damage had been dealt to his body. But even though Emily felt relieved at the news, now came the hard part, waiting for him to wake up. Emily had resolved the night after she found out he was missing that she would tell Christian everything, and she meant everything. She would tell him about Doyle, about the brand, about Rome, about why they had broken up, and now the time had come, which had unnerved her. What would he think of her? How would his feelings affect their child? Would he ever forgive her for the lies she had told Ray on the phone? Did he understand that when she told him she loved him she was being completely honest? Emily shook the thoughts from her head as she followed a nurse back to his room in the post-op critical care wing of the hospital, nervously shifting around on the uncomfortable visitor's chair in the quiet room until she finally fell asleep.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team set off on their various assignments. Rossi had headed back to Boston to grab Emily's go-bag and check the team out of the hotel while Hotch had called Strauss and conferred with the local police about officially closing the Ray Sullivan case. On the other hand, Morgan, Reid, and JJ had insisted on remaining with Emily. Morgan had continued to call and update a worried Garcia, Reid had been sent out to find snacks, and JJ had booked a hotel room for her brunette friend in case she wanted to sleep in an actual bed at some point.

Because even though everyone else was just as exhausted as Emily, the entire team wanted to be there for their friend, and they were almost ecstatic that she let them.

* * *

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Morgan asked as he returned back from the cafeteria, handing JJ and Reid cups of coffee as sat next to the blonde in the hospital waiting room. It was almost 10am and the hospital was starting to become more busy as the ill and injured filtered into the building.

"What do you mean?" JJ asked as she sipped her coffee and mindlessly flipped through a magazine that contained the "latest" celebrity gossip from three months ago.

Morgan shuffled around in his chair and crossed a leg over his knee before speaking up again, "The things she had to say on the phone with Ray were pretty tough to hear. Do you think they'll be able to get past that? Personally" Morgan began as he placed a hand on his chest, "I get that's what she had to say to save him. I'm a profiler. I get that she had to say those things to keep him alive. But will he get it?"

JJ pinched the bridge of her nose after putting the magazine down, "I do. I think he knew before she even ended the call. Morgan, I know you're worried about Emily. And I know you're worried that he's going to leave her alone as a single parent, but he's really not like that" JJ clarified before chuckling. "He talks this big game about not caring about anything or anyone, but we all know that couldn't be farther from the truth. He's never been like that, especially when it comes to Emily."

"I guess so" Morgan admitted as he rubbed his head. "I hope they get everything sorted out or baby girl is going to throw a fit" he admitted as JJ nodded and laughed while Reid continued to sip on his coffee, still not quite understanding relationship dynamics.

"How many times has she called to get updates on her Sinfully Delicious?"

"Like three times an hour, but she hadn't called me for a few hours, which probably means…"

"She's totally on a plane here" JJ filled in as they both laughed again. Penelope Garcia was nothing if not loyal to the team that she considered her family. That much was always certain.

"JJ, I'm confused" Reid quietly stated as Morgan and JJ shared a surprised look. When was Spencer Reid ever confused about anything?

"What's up Spence?" JJ asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well on the phone Christian said he saw the Cherry Blossoms and Emily said it wasn't April yet, but it's actually June. April already passed so why would she say that?"

Morgan chuckled at the question as JJ shrugged, "It was probably was a metaphor for their relationship. It was probably was something they wanted to do together but didn't because they broke up. He probably wanted to show her that he never gave up on them."

"Oh, okay" Reid agreed, still thoroughly confused by the conversation he had overheard. But maybe it wasn't his place to question or dissect everything that was said on that call. And maybe, for once, he didn't want to.

* * *

After a few more hours passed, Christian woke up from surgery exceptionally confused about where he was and slightly panicked. After realizing that he was no longer restrained he tried to swiftly sit up in the bed, immediately groaning in pain when he did, which garnered the attention of a sleeping Emily.

"Hey, hey" Emily quietly began as she rubbed his forearm, getting him to focus on her ,which gave him an instant sense of relief. "You're okay, you're in the hospital" she reminded him as he audibly sighed.

"Sorry" he remarked as he shook his head. "Fuck" he groaned as the pain from his irritated stitches radiated through his body.

"Did they rip?"

"I don't think so" Christian replied, the pain evident in his voice. "What's the damage anyway?"

"Three broken ribs, a concussion, the two stabbing wounds and the gunshot wound. The good news is everything will heal completely" Emily calmly informed him. "But even though you don't do field work, they want you out of work for at least two weeks after you're discharged. They'll probably let you come home in a few days" She added as Christian picked up on her wording. She said _come home _not _go home. _

"I fucking hate Providence" he whined with a small smile that quickly faded when he thought back to Ray Sullivan. "Where's Ray?"

"Rossi shot him, he's dead" Emily told him in a manner of fact tone as she leaned back in the faded grey hospital chair.

Christian nodded as he started to remember some of the events from the days before, "How long have you been here?"

"Not long" Emily lied as Christian scoffed and rolled his eyes, obviously not buying her lie. "Fine, I've been here since you were moved from the operating room" she admitted as he tilted his head and gave her a sympathetic look.

"You're pregnant Emily, you should be resting…"

"I'd rather be here" Emily interrupted.

"So am I fucking Cinderella now?" Christian asked as she looked at him with a perplexed look. What kind of drugs did they have him on? "Like the fairytale, where she's saved by the fucking prince?"

"You mean Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella is the pumpkin and the shoe one. You really should know this, it's common knowledge" she playfully mocked as he smirked at her.

"Yeah, well, you're fucking terrible at holding vigil over someone. You know that right?" He teased in a quiet voice as she rubbed her tired eyes, a smile creeping on to her face. "You even forget the fucking candles. What the fuck is this?"

"Oh like you have such a long line of other admirers" she shot back with a grin. He was really was going to be okay, and maybe there was a chance that they would be too.

Christian lightly swallowed as he scratched his jaw line nervously, "I wanted to say...I don't even know how to say it, but thank you."

"For what?"

"For what?" He repeated with a chuckle. "How about for saving my life. For caring" he added in a voice so quiet that it was barely discernible.

Emily sighed as she crossed her arms, "I don't know how not to. I don't know how to not care about you. You're like a tick that's burrowed into my soul" she added as he shook his head.

"Stop stealing my lines Prentiss. Don't they teach you about fucking plagiarism at Yale?"

"Sue me" Emily challenged with a shrug as he quietly started laughing before noticing she was becoming more serious. "I, umm, I have something I need to tell you even though Ray kind of already did" she began as he nodded for her to continue. "I'm pregnant."

"I know, I'm happy for you" he offered her with a sad smile that didn't quite illuminate his eyes.

"Christian" she began as she gently ran her hands through his hair, "When I told you everything I said on the phone was a lie I meant that I lied to Ray when I said I didn't know you were missing. I know it was a horrible thing to do but if I didn't he would have killed you. I hope you can forgive me." Christian merely nodded in reply and Emily took his lack of a verbal response as a sign to go on, "I also lied when I told Ray the baby wasn't yours…"

"So, then, it's mine?" He interjected cautiously.

"I had to say it wasn't because otherwise it would have put us in more danger, but yes, it's yours" she answered as she glanced down at her hands and began to pick at her fingernails, not noticing the small smile forming on his face.

"So there hasn't been anyone else? There's no chance…"

"No" she cut him off as an evil grin made its way on to his face.

"Well I didn't want to be presumptuous."

"When have you ever not wanted to be presumptuous?" She asked sarcastically as he offered her a shrug.

"I just thought, weren't you on something?"

Emily sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I am, well was, but it's not infallible. Have you never taken a sex-ed class?" She asked with eyebrow raised.

"Please, my entire adult life has been a fucking sex ed class" he shot back smugly as Emily rolled her eyes.

"You do realize that basically half of classes are about STDs right? Do you ever consider the context of what you're saying before you say it?" She teased as he scowled at the realization. "But, about the baby, I know it's a surprise and it's okay if you don't, I can do it alone. The last time…"

"Last time?" he asked as he shuffled a little in the bed to better see her, focusing on her pained face. "I thought you said you didn't have any kids."

"I didn't have it" she confessed in a broken voice. "I was fifteen, I just wanted to fit in…" she drifted off as he took her hand, ignoring the pain coming from the knife wound.

"It's okay" he softly replied. "I, fuck, I wish I knew the right words. I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better."

"It's fine" she shrugged.

"No" he firmly stated as his intense green-blue eyes locked with her deep brown ones. "It's not fine. It's not fine that the father wasn't there for you, because he should have been. It's not okay that you had to deal with that alone as a kid."

"I had a friend help me."

Christian nodded before taking a deep breath, "That's good."

"He really helped" Emily sadly confessed as she thought back to Matthew.

Christian nervously scanned the hospital room before refocusing on Emily, "I don't judge the decision you made, it made you who you are. I need you to get that. It took a lot to deal with that as a kid, and I completely get that you couldn't have it then. But you want to keep ours right?"

"Yeah" Emily admitted as she bit her bottom lip. "I feel like it's my second chance and I get it if you don't want this" she began before he interrupted her.

"Who said that?" He asked in a tender voice. "Emily, I had a fucking terrible childhood. It was horrible and I want our kid to have better. I want to do this with you if you'll let me. I would never just leave you to do this by yourself. I admit I have no fucking clue what to do, but I love you" he firmly stated before grinning. "And I'm going to spoil this child so fucking rotten it's going to be a fucking menace like it's mother."

Emily rolled her eyes at the statement, "You so cannot call me 'a menace' around our baby."

"Why not? It's true" he defended with a smirk.

"Well then what am I going to say to it about you?"

"That I'm a fucking handsome, intelligent, and wicked charming bastard who you can't keep your hands off of" he stated with a smug look.

Emily scoffed as more light filtered into the plain hospital room, "Is that so?"

"Well you are pregnant so I would think so" he commented as she chuckled. "You know, I should be so fucking pissed at you now. You should have told me about the baby sooner. I didn't even get to go to one of those fucking lady doctor appointments where you get to see it."

"I know" Emily softly replied. "You can be, mad that is. I don't expect you to forgive me."

Christian nodded as he began to rub the pad of his thumb gingerly over her knuckles. "I don't want to be mad at you. I don't know, I don't know how to be fucking mad at you, especially after the whole saving my life and the baby thing" he offered in warm tone. "Plus, you remembered George Bernard Shaw and who'll fucking take me now anyway? I'm fucking damaged goods." He informed her with a smirk as he pointed to his abdomen and lifted up his bandaged hand.

"That's a good point."

"You'll take me" he confidently remarked.

Emily smiled as she nodded, "Yeah, I'll take you."

"Admit it, you kind of like me" he goaded as she shook her head and laughed.

"Yeah, I kinda do."

"But you've hit your head a lot" he added with a grin.

Emily sighed as she scanned the small room, "Yeah that's obviously it." A few moments of silence passed before she spoke up again in a uncharacteristically unsure voice, "I need to be honest with you about why we broke up. I was, when I was undercover with Interpol I was very close with the man I was investigating…" she drifted off as she started picking at her fingernails again.

"I get why you don't want to talk about it. I get that you want to just forget about that part of your life because it doesn't real feel like you, it feels like someone else entirely. I understand that" he offered as he slightly tilted his head and gave her a small smile. "But I still want you to talk about it with me when it's eating at you. I don't want you to suffer with that shit alone."

"I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how. It's complicated."

"Emily, you can tell me anything. I understand 'complicated.' My entire life has been fucking 'complicated.'"

"You didn't and I did" she cryptically said as she glanced off to the side, embarrassed about what she was about to reveal to him.

"What do you mean?"

Emily slightly swallowed before answering him, "I was his type, I was our way into his world. It was the only way we could get someone on the inside, so I slept with him. I had sex with him for the job. He thought it was real, he gave me a ring, a Gimmal ring like your mother's. That's why I kind of freaked out…"

"Kind of?" He asked with a knowing look. "You definitely freaked out."

Emily sighed as she chewed on her bottom lip nervously, "That's what I had been having the nightmares about. He was the one who stabbed me and gave me the brand…"

Christian shook his head in anger, "Brand?"

"The four-leaf clover" Emily admitted as Christian briefly closed his eyes and lightly swallowed, the rage building inside of him.

"He fucking did that to you? Who the fuck was this prick so I can personally…"

"Ian Doyle..."

"Fucking lucky charms!" Christian yelled as Emily made a confused face. "I had to meet that fucking prick, what a dick. I always hated that IRA motherfucker and now I hate that sick piece of shit even more. Fucking Irish fuckhead, what I wouldn't give to beat the shit out of him right now, with a fucking Margaret Thatcher crucifix no less" he ranted as Emily tried to stifle a laugh while he tried taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Well, the point is, I had slept with him. I let him, we were intimate and you didn't do that, you didn't sleep with Darby."

"Did you love him?"

"No" Emily firmly responded, completely sure of the answer. "I thought I cared about him, but I think I was just telling myself that to make it easier. Being with you made me realize that and it's just a difficult thing to come to terms with. It's hard to accept that I sold myself like that for a job. I exploited his feelings for me and I don't know if that's ever okay, regardless of who the person is. I had to do it but…" She trailed off as Christian nodded for her to go on. "But it doesn't change what I did."

"Darby was innocent, your guy wasn't" Christian simply stated as he shook his head in frustration. "Fuck, you're seriously too good of a person. I don't get why you feel bad about this. You did what you had to. You did and I don't care. I could give a shit if you slept with him. I'm more upset that he hurt you. Listen, there are so many things I did undercover because I had to and I don't hate myself for it because it wasn't me, it was Jackie Kane. I don't know how else to explain it. And you, you did what you thought was right at the time, and that's it. It's done. We did what we did so someone else wouldn't have to because we could fucking handle it, and I don't get why you keep fucking torturing yourself over it. You need to stop letting that control your life. Ian Doyle was a piece of shit and he deserved way worse than just getting his heart broken."

"It was more than that" Emily admitted. "I knew things about him and let Interpol use those things against him. He had a son and I faked his death. I sent these pictures of him being shot to use during Doyle's interrogations. But I just couldn't let that innocent little boy be turned into a monster."

"First, I think that's pretty fucking admirable that you did that for his kid. And as for the whole interrogation bullshit, Emily he was arrested because he was terrible person. I'm not an international law expert but I'm pretty sure that Interpol doesn't arrest people for stealing a few fucking beers from the packie. I'm guessing he did some pretty horrible things and I don't see why you feel bad that he was punished for it. Not to mention the fact that if he just cooperated such methods wouldn't have been necessary. That prick was probably protecting very dangerous people and sometimes you have to consider, as cliché as it sounds, the greater good. The world isn't always so black and white, you know? But the fact that you survived it all, I think that says more about your character than who you did or didn't sleep with. And when it comes to us, you know you love me so just go with that."

Emily felt a wave of relief pass over her before she gave him a knowing look and chuckled, "Oh I do, do I?"

"Fuck yeah you do" he responded with a smirk. "I'm a fucking hot commodity amongst the deranged so you should fit right in."

"Asshole" she playfully chided.

"And you fucking love it" he challenged with a smile. "You love that I'm not fucking afraid of you."

Emily scoffed at the statement as she crossed her arms, "You're a little afraid of me."

"Okay, just a little" he admitted as she started laughing. Christian lightly touched his head wound and winced in pain as Emily moved his hand to stop him from further irritating the injury. "I read those books you told me about" he stated as she placed his hand in her lap.

"Vonnegut?"

"Yeah."

"Did you like them?" She inquired in an excited voice.

"Well considering I haven't had a fucking lobotomy yet, no" he teased as she gave him a dirty look.

"So I was thinking…"

"Please don't do that. You think and terrible things happen."

"Shut up" she scolded playfully as she lightly hit him on the arm. "As I was saying, I was thinking that you are way too under-qualified for your current job."

"Oh really?" He asked as he furrowed his brow.

"And I think in the interest of public safety, you should be demoted. Preferably in D.C." she added with a shrug.

"Well we can't put the fucking public at risk can we?" He rhetorically asked as she leaned closer to him.

"No" she merely responded before leaning down and giving him a soft intimate kiss as his hand moved to caress her cheek before they pulled apart, with her leaning her forehead against his. "Move in with me."

"You mean it?"

"Yes."

Christian smiled before rubbing his chin, "Where are we going to put my stuff?"

"The trash" she replied as he scowled.

"That's wicked fucked up kid" he huffed as a lopsided grin made its way on to her face. "What about my Bud Light neon sign?"

"Donate."

"My Celtics 'Big Three' Poster?"

"Trash."

"My fucking Tom Brady cardboard cut out…do not fucking say trash" Christian warned as Emily smirked. "Emily…"

Emily brought her hand to her chest dramatically, "I would never. That can be recycled."

"You're the fucking worse" he complained before scratching the hair near his temple. "What about my Irish Blessing sign?"

"Don't make me change my mind about this whole moving in together thing" she teased as he shook his head. "Also, I think your landlord threw all that crap away anyway…"

"WHAT?!" He yelled as Emily chuckled at his outburst, "Those were my fucking most prized possessions."

"Which is exactly why you're leaving all your crap back in Vermilion Parrish. They fit in with the mystique of that backwoods hell hole."

"So are you sure you want to fucking live in sin with me?" He questioned with a grin as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm already pregnant and if you stopped cursing you'd basically be a mute so I'm guess we're way past the whole living in sin thing."

A few moments of comfortable silence passed before Christian spoke again, "So we're having a baby."

"We are having a baby" Emily repeated with a nod.

"What do you think we're having?"

"I don't know" Emily shrugged. "I'm twelve weeks so I guess it'll be a little while until we find out. But I do think Garcia will kill us if we have a boy."

"We should have a boy just to fucking spite her" he stated in a matter of fact tone that made Emily laugh. "I don't care what we have but I'm going to train…"

"Train? It's not a dog."

Christian waved her off as he continued to make his point, "this kid is going to fucking love Fenway park, hate the Yankees, worship Tom fucking Brady, and revere the Kennedys. Fucking JFK was a class act."

"You are so Boston it's ridiculous."

"But you do know what that means right?" He asked as Emily leaned back in the chair, stretching out her sore back. "You're stuck with me for life kid, guaran-fucking-teed."

Emily groaned at the statement, "Ugh, what did I get myself into?" She cracked as he glared at her. "Hey" She started as she gently ran her fingers up and down his forearm, "I really do love you."

"I love you too, and I'm going to love our baby, but if it becomes a New York Stankees fan I'll fucking disown it" he commented with a mock serious tone as she rolled her eyes. "Lakers too, and if we do have a daughter, I will punch any little prick that tries anything with her. I swear I'll fucking do it…"

"You are so insane" Emily laughed, because she knew he would totally do it.

"I'll punch him in the dick, I don't care. I'm the fucking police. What are they going to do to me? Charge me with fucking assault? And when age fourteen rolls around, it's going to be some fucking Rapunzel realness at our house."

"You're certifiable. What a great father you'll be" she replied sarcastically as he shot her a smile. "God I hope we have a boy so we can avoid all of this insanity."

"And I'm never wearing one of those baby kangaroo pouches things. Deal?"

"Deal" Emily agreed, not wanting to wear one of those things either. "But if our child's first sentence is anything close to 'fuck Jeter' I will divorce you."

Christian grinned at her little slip, deciding to not point it out to her. "I cannot make that promise" he quipped before his demeanor became more serious. "So, we're trying the whole committed relationship thing again then? For real this time, no fucking around…"

"I want to" she answered honestly.

"I do too…" Christian drifted off as he cleared his throat. "How long do we have to get our shit together before the baby comes?"

"Six months" Emily responded as she bit her bottom lip.

"Okay" Christian began as he furrowed his brow. "Do we have to do a lot of stuff to get ready for it? What have you done so far?"

"I told Hotch."

"And?"

"That's it" Emily admitted as Christian tried to stifle a laugh. "I was processing" she defended.

"Well, we'll figure it out. If fucking A-Rod can figure out this shit than a fucking rock could. But I think I have a solution, you know I heard that Jackie Chan's mother was pregnant with him for a year…"

"What are you getting at?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised at the man.

"You could buy us some more time" he shrugged as Emily emphatically shook her head 'no.'

"I've been experiencing migraines, I'm exhausted all the time, every smell makes me feel sick and" Emily added as she pointed to her chest, "this entire area is a sore mess, so no. No, you are not making me stay pregnant for an extra three months!"

"I wouldn't call it a mess" Christian replied with a grin as Emily glared at him.

"You're going nowhere near me…" She began before he cut her off.

"Emily I'm like fucking Humpty-Dumpty here, it's not like I'm going to be able to do anything" he quietly said as her demeanor became softer. "But I'm really sorry you've been going through this alone."

Emily nodded as she ran her hands through her hair, "I know, it's my fault anyway. I should have told you sooner, it's just been tough. This whole pregnancy has been really stressful."

"We're going to figure it out" Christian reassured her with a genuine smile. "But I'm really sorry that this has been tough on you, which is why I think you should get out of here and actually get some real sleep. Preferably in a place that doesn't smell like anti-fucking-septic and death."

Emily shook her head after trying to stifle another yawn. She really didn't want to leave him after just getting him back, but he was right. She needed to take care of herself for the sake of their child. It was strange, but telling him made everything feel instantly even more real. Despite going through the typical pregnancy symptoms for almost three months, having Christian tell her that he was ready for this made her completely at peace with the fact that her life was changing. In six months there would be this new person in their lives who was part of both of them. This new person who would be in there lives forever. A person who already depended on them, but Emily still didn't want to leave, "I'm not tired."

"Yeah and I'm fucking Rosie O'Donnell" he shot back with a grin. "I'm fine and you're pregnant. Don't pregnant women normally sleep?" He asked with a pointed look as Emily rolled her eyes. "Seriously, when was the last time you slept because you look like shit?"

"Hey" she complained as he tried to hide a smile. "You look like shit too."

"Fuck that" he scoffed as he waved her off as if the most ludicrous statement he had ever heard. "I always look Paul Newman level good Prentiss."

"And don't forget Jack Kennedy level charming" she added sarcastically.

"I almost forgot how much of a fucking delight I am" he cracked as she started laughing. "I'm basically the whole fucking package."

"Basically" Emily scoffed as she leaned back in her chair.

Christian shook his head and scratched at the scruff on his jaw line as he tried to hide a small smile. Emily Prentiss was truly the most stubborn person he had ever known. "I love you but you're so fucking stubborn it's insane. For the sake of my sanity…"

"Oh we're way past that" Emily interjected with laugh.

"See, fucking menace" he commented as he crossed his arms over his chest. "For the sake of your fucking A-1 boyfriend's mental health, just go get some sleep and when you come back we can work out some sort of plan for this whole life-changing experience. Okay?"

"Okay" she finally agreed as she leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'm really glad that…I'm just really happy."

"Me too Starsky" Christian smiled.

"Well I guess that's one of your better ones" Emily relented as she walked out the hospital room door, shaking her head with a smile.

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You all are the best and help me update regularly. **


	32. Imported Chocolate

**We're officially going to pass 100,000 words with this chapter, which is insane. Thank you everyone for sticking with me and for continuing to leave your comments. **

**This chapter has a bit of comedy, but also a bit of emotion thrown in as some more unresolved issues are addressed. **

After taking a nap for a few hours at the nearby hotel JJ had booked, Emily headed back to the hospital where she conferred with Christian about their plan for the upcoming months. It was decided that after he was discharged, which would probably take three days, he would return with Emily to D.C. for two weeks before heading back to Lafayette. Whilst in Lafayette he would pack up his things and turn in his two weeks notice, while working on trying to transfer to Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department, hopefully in the same position.

It was about 5pm when Garcia poked her head into the room. Christian was watching some crime show while Emily was sitting on the edge of his bed, flipping through a decorating magazine. "Can we mere mortals enter?" She asked as Christian gave Emily a confused look.

"Sure PG" Emily offered as the rest of the team crammed into the small room.

"God, how do you look so delicious after surgery?" Garcia rhetorically asked as she made a biting gesture with her teeth. "Work those bandages hot stuff."

"Yeah because this is for a fucking fashion statement" Christian sarcastically replied with an eye roll as Emily lightly hit his good shoulder. "But I do want to thank you all…" Christian began before, all at once, the entire BAU team told him that it was no problem.

"You're in the family now kid" Rossi spoke up. "There is no getting out."

"One of us, gooble gobble, one of us, we accept you..." Garcia started chanting to the amusement of Christian before Hotch glared at her, immediately silencing her while the rest of the them team tried to conceal their laughter with fake coughing.

"But we do need to talk about your plans Prentiss" Hotch began as the rest of the babbling group quieted. "I talked to Strauss and she surprisingly wasn't upset at us for taking this case. In fact, she said she was quite fond of you Cavanagh" Hotch stated with a questioning look as the team all turned to face Christian, who just shrugged.

"Strauss, as in Erin Strauss likes Christian Cavanagh? My Christian Cavanagh?" Emily asked incredulously. "What is happening to the world?"

"I don't understand again" Reid complained.

"No one does junior G-man" Garcia added as her face contorted in confusion. "It's like Easter Island or Kim Kardashian. No one understands how it happened, it just did."

"What?" Christian questioned in an offended voice. "I'm real fucking likable."

Emily scoffed at the remark, "You're like allergies. Are you ideal? No, but we'll learn to live with you" she cracked as Christian scowled.

"Maybe you all are the fucking problem because that broad seemed wicked delightful" he stated in a matter of fact tone as the room erupted in laughter. Erin Strauss delightful? Tolerable? Maybe. Delightful? No way in hell.

"Well regardless of how this happened" Hotch began again with a small smile. "We have to head back to the BAU tonight, unless you want to take a few personal days Prentiss."

"I'll probably need to talk a few weeks if that's okay" Emily stated as she glanced over to Christian. She never took time off of work, but she didn't want to head back to D.C. without him. However, that did mean that she was going to have to call her house sitter about staying with Sergio for a few more days. Emily internally sighed as she thought to the upcoming changes to her life. It was hard enough to take care of Sergio while she was away on cases, and a baby was going to be exponentially more work. But at least she wasn't going to have to do it alone.

Not liking the quiet that filled the room, Garcia spoke up as she picked a bag up off the floor. "Well I brought presents" Garcia theatrically announced in a sing-song voice as she placed the bag on Christian's hospital bed. "For my sinfully delicious" she offered as he smiled and took the bag from her hands, pulling out a pair of grey sweatpants and a green Celtics t-shirt. "Look Emily, look at how cute that little Irish man is" Garcia pointed out in a giddy voice as the team, save for Christian, collectively just shook their heads.

"The Celtics!" He exclaimed in an excited voice as the technical analyst clapped her hands happily.

"Did I do good?"

Christian grinned at the woman, "Fuck yeah you did. I'll be looking wicked sharp."

"Yay! I thought all your clothes would be all bloody and gross so I bought these for your trip home" she proudly stated as she leaned over to give him a gentle hug.

"That's really nice Garcia" Emily smiled before a thought occurred to her. This was nice, but what the motivation for this little gift? What sort of angle was the blonde working? "But this doesn't mean you're the godmother."

"Drat" Garcia huffed as she glared at a grinning JJ.

Christian chuckled at the interaction before speaking up, "Don't worry Oracle, I can be bought" Christian reassured her as Garcia brightened up.

"Huzzah!" Garcia taunted to JJ before turning back to face Christian, "Do you like this Rondo man?" She ignorantly asked as a look of pure shock made its way on to Christian's face.

"Rajon Rondo is like my fucking brother. I'm going to name my fucking first-born child after him…"

"No you are not" Emily scolded as the team chuckled at the couple's interaction. "We are not naming our child Rajon Rondo Cavanagh."

"What about Rajon Rondo Prentiss-Cavanagh" Christian offered, hoping a hyphenated last name might win the brunette over. However, his plan didn't work.

"Absolutely not."

Christian sighed as he scratched his jaw line, "What about a middle name?"

"No" Emily firmly retorted. "I am not naming my child 'something Rajon Cavanagh.' And what if it's a girl?"

"Ronda Cavanagh, call it a fucking day Starsky because that shit is done. We just named our baby" He confidently stated with a grin as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Am I having a stroke?" Emily asked JJ, who was trying to stifle a laugh. "We are not naming our baby Ronda Cavanagh. By the way Ronda sounds way to similar to Rhoda…"

"Well now you've just ruined it" Christian complained as Emily smirked proudly.

"And while we're discussing this we're not naming it Tom Brady Cavanagh, or Larry Bird Cavanagh either."

"What about Nomar?" Christian inquired as Emily lifted her arms in frustration and stared up at the ceiling while her boyfriend began his newest history lesson. "May 10, 1999 Red Sox versus the fucking Seattle Mariners. Fucking Nomar Garciaparra hits two, fucking two gram slams and a two run homer at fucking Fenway. Two Emily!"

"Nope" Emily responded shaking her head. "Not going to happen."

"Well this is just wicked depressing" Christian grumbled as the team burst into a fit of laughter at his antics.

"As amazing as this argument is" Garcia cut in as she took out a small pad of paper. "I need to talk to you about my future minion. First, I would prefer a girl so Emster get on it" the technical analyst instructed as the entire team gave her a perplexed look. Did Garcia not understand basic biology? Gender was determined by the father, not the mother. "Second, I have a list of the ideal baby traits I'd like each of you to pass on. Obviously we want Emily's personality…"

"Fuck you" Christian interjected playfully as laughter filled the room again.

Emily raised her hand to stop Garcia for going on any further, "You see this is why JJ is edging you out at being godmother, because you are clinically insane."

Garcia put her hands on her hips and scowled at the brunette before turning her attention to a snickering Christian, "Do you agree with this?"

"Well…"

"I can't believe you Emily! You've turned my sinfully delicious against me" Garcia complained as the team started chuckling again. Penelope Garcia had the unique gift of being able to brighten up just about any situation.

* * *

It had taken four days but Christian was able to convince the hospital to discharge him, and he and Emily were finally able to leave Providence for D.C, which was an ordeal in itself. Since Christian had been abducted he had no identification with him, which presented a problem when it came to flying home. As a result he had to ask a few Lafayette police officer trainees to go to his condo so they could send him his passport and a few items of clothing. Christian could tell they weren't happy about it, but they were his subordinates so he didn't care. Meanwhile, Emily had taken off two weeks of work to stay with a recovering Christian, who dealt with the recent trauma in his usual way, complaining non-stop about Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, New York, and the Yankees.

And, of course, the weeks Emily and Christian spent together brought about only more banter and arguments, mostly about bread, coffee, The Boston Globe, and baby names. But Emily had to admit that it was comforting that everything felt so natural again. It didn't require any readjusting to have each other back in their lives, it just worked. It always had.

What Emily had finally discovered about their relationship was that they pushed each other, which was both a good and bad thing. They were imperfect and exceptionally flawed, and their unique sort of imperfections would sometimes bring out the worst in each other. However, in the same breath, they often brought out the best in each other. After talking with Rossi one afternoon, Emily had surmised that her relationship with Christian would never be perfect, and that there would often be times when their individual flaws would push each other to their limits. But that same passion that would, at times, drive each other away would also bring them back together. This was quite simply because, on the most basic of levels, they just really loved each other, and despite their hardened exteriors they were both very loving and vulnerable people.

Emily and Christian had spent his last full day in D.C. in her home office, looking at different properties which brought up a much-needed conversation about the new family's finances.

"Is this really what you're prepared to spend?" Christian asked with a furrowed brow as he pointed to a specific McLean, Virginia property Emily had been considering. Before Christian came back into her life, Emily was torn between living in D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood or McLean, Virginia.

"Yeah why?" Emily asked absent-mindedly as Christian scratched the hair near his temple.

"Are you fucking corrupt or something? How can you afford this on a FBI salary?"

Emily bit her bottom lip, realizing that she had never disclosed anything about her personal finances before. "Well…"

"Well?" He asked with a pointed look. "I knew you were comfortable but you're more than that, aren't you?"

"Yeah" Emily admitted, already uncomfortable about the conversation, even though she knew it was necessary.

Christian sighed as he scratched at his jaw line. "I haven't been exactly honest with you about this either" he confessed before elaborating further after Emily raised an eyebrow. "When I turned twenty-one my grandparents gave me this trust fund, but I've never touched it. I don't know it just felt like I would be owing them something, but, maybe I should?"

"That's kind of up to you. I wouldn't want to pressure you about anything, especially when it comes to your family. I know that is a sore subject" Emily replied as Christian brought his elbows on to Emily's desk and put his head in his hands. She opted not to bring it up, but she already knew about all of his financials from when Garcia went through them. She just felt that this was something he needed to address on his own when he was ready.

"I don't want you to get stuck with buying the house and everything, children are fucking money syphons" he bluntly stated as Emily started laughing.

"They are."

"Why do babies need so much crap? They're fine living in a cramped dark ballon for nine fucking months and then when they come out they need a fucking crib? What the fuck is that?"

"I know. Why don't we just stick our baby in a drawer or something?" Emily asked sarcastically.

"Finally putting that Yale education to work Prentiss" Christian teased as Emily lightly slapped him on the arm. "This is fucking abuse kid. Now that I know you're fucking rich I'm taking you to court."

"Anyone judge who spends more than ten minutes with you would give me a Nobel Peace Prize" she shot back with an eye roll before taking a deep breath and becoming serious again. "Christian, I really don't mind paying for anything, it's my child too. I don't buy into the antiquated idea that men need to to pay for everything. It's really up to whatever you feel comfortable with. But I was thinking that you should trade in your car for an SUV or something."

"My car?"

"Your car is worth more money than mine" Emily shrugged as Christian tilted his head in confusion.

"You see I don't get you. You have money and you drive around in a fucking shoe box. And what am I going to drive now?"

"The shoe box" Emily laughed as Christian scowled.

"My car is how I intimidate my subordinates. It's my 'don't fuck with me' statement. What if I transfer down here and all these little D.C. pricks think we're fucking equals or something…"

"God forbid we have that" Emily interjected with an eye roll that made Christian laugh.

"Okay about the money thing" Christian began as Emily nodded for him to go on. "The trust I have pays out annual dividends into a bank account that I never touch, but my grandparents don't know the balance so I would rather use that and not touch the actual fund. That way they don't know I'm using their money. Then when college comes around they'll be dead and we can use it" he suggested.

"So you don't care about using the money, you just don't want them to know about it" Emily chuckled, completely understanding what he meant. She was the same way when she was younger, but since then she and her mother had repaired their relationship. Christian, on the other hand, had no interest in reconnecting with the people who ruined his parent's life.

Christian nodded as he took a deep breath, "It's complicated."

"Explain it to me" Emily gently requested.

"You probably already know, you fucking know everything, fucking profiler" he rambled nervously as he scanned the office. "My father was a good guy, but they changed him. What they did to him, they did it to him Emily" Christian ambiguously stated as he shook his head. "He was a terrible father, he had a terrible temper, he was drunk all the time. He was always angry at me. I mean, yeah, I got into fights and ditched classes a lot. By the way, if our kid ever tells us it's sneaking out to go to the library, it's lying. Just assume our kid can't read" he attempted to joke as a sentence that Sergeant Brady O'Rourke had said popped into Emily's head.

_"Father was a shanty Irish drunk, Chris had frequent emergency room visits for 'falls'" O'Rourke stated, using air quotes for emphasis. "If you get what that means."_

"He hit you" Emily spoke up as Christian took a deep breath.

"I look like her, and I think it was just his own personal torture, you know? Having this constant reminder. I know that everyone has shit and no childhood is happy, but I just feel like they ruined mine. They ruined mine because of appearances, because of what their friends at the country club would think. And maybe my father was always destined to be a fucking prick, but maybe he wasn't. I'll never know what he was like before…" he trailed off before clearing his throat. "I don't want you to fucking pity me."

"I don't" Emily assured him as she rubbed his forearm. "'Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy.'"

"F. Scott Fitzgerald."

"Great Irishman" Emily nodded as she nudged him with her elbow.

Christian sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm not a fucking tragedy though."

"Well to be fair, you're not a hero either" Emily teased, prompting Christian to break into a fit of laughter.

"You're wicked mean kid."

"You love it" Emily retorted with a smirk as she kissed his temple, relieved that he opened up to her. It was a two-way street in their relationship. They were both honest with each other, despite how difficult it was for them.

* * *

It was 11am the next day when Emily had driven Christian to the airport. On Monday morning he was going to turn in his resignation and spend two weeks in Lafayette before officially moving in with Emily, bringing with him whatever personal items his landlord hadn't thrown out. Christian had also already gotten a job lined up in the Criminal Intelligence Division of the Investigative Services Bureau for Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, where he would once again be supervising undercover operations. However, even though he would be back soon, Emily couldn't help but feel saddened that he was leaving.

"So I guess this is goodbye for now" Emily softly stated as Christian unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'm going to miss you."

"Is someone finally admitting how wicked awesome I am?" Christian asked with a grin as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Please, it's just the hormones" she waved him off as he shook his head. "What?"

"Fuck" Christian chuckled as he hastily opened the door before turning back to Emily, "Stay here. Don't go anywhere" he ordered as he ran off into the airport terminal.

"Christian?" Emily yelled from inside the car.

"Just wait" he yelled back as he disappeared through the sliding airport doors, leaving Emily thoroughly confused.

"You're going to miss your plane" she mumbled as she turned on the car radio and sighed, running her fingers over her small baby bump. _What the fuck is he doing?_

Around ten minutes passed before Christian came running back towards Emily's car, almost getting hit by a car in the process. "How about a fucking blinker buddy?!" He yelled as he approached the car while Emily rolled down the window to talk to talk to him.

"What is…"

"I think you should marry me" he said, cutting her off in a matter of fact tone as he leaned over and tried to catch his breath.

Emily tilted her head in complete confusion, "What?"

Christian took a deep breath as he leaned against car door, "Okay, when I first met you I didn't love you, fuck, I didn't even like you. And I don't even know how this happened but my life without you in it, it doesn't even feel like my life anymore. And, you drive me insane. You never buy the coffee I like, you buy that stupid bread with the nuts in it, you must have the blood circulation of an eighty year old woman because you're always cold, you criticize my driving…"

"Your driving sucks."

"You interrupt me" he added as she laughed. "And I'm a fucking disaster, we both know this. But you gave me this life, and you saw me for who I was when I didn't even know it. You, Emily Prentiss, make me happy and I know I make you happy too. I'm not going to get down on one knee and I don't even have a ring, but I am giving you this bar of imported chocolate" he stated as he handed it to her through the rolled down window. "And I am telling you I don't play games. I'm in this for life. I meant that when I said it to you in the hospital and I mean it now. I'm in this forever and for whatever reason, I think you want to be with me forever too. So I think you should marry me" he concluded as he waited for her reply.

Emily shook her head and laughed, "Okay."

"Is that a yes?"

Emily tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at the man, "You didn't ask me a question."

Christian smirked at the correct statement. "I don't ask questions I already know the answer to" he teased as he entered into the car and pulled her into a kiss, his tongue gliding over her lips, which she gladly parted for him as her hands found their way to the nape of his neck, gently massaging the hair before Christian reluctantly pulled away. "I love you."

"I love you too" she replied as she rested her forehead against his. "You know how I said I was relived that all those concussions I had never gave me any permanent brain damage?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I was wrong" she teased as she held up the chocolate bar, making Christian laugh.

"Like you can do any better" he shot back with a smug look. "I'm a fucking catch."

"Yeah yeah yeah" Emily smirked as she threw his bag towards him. "You're going to miss your plane."

"I'll call you tonight" he assured her and he gently cupped her cheek with his hand.

"I'll answer."

"I love you" he called as he began to jog towards the airport again.

"I love you too" she laughed as she shook her head in disbelief before she started her car and headed back home. This would be an interesting story to tell the team. And how was she going to explain this to her mother? "Shit" Emily groaned "I still have to tell my mother."

**Are you happy about the recent development?**

**Emily will get some bling eventually, but who will end up helping Christian pick it out?**

**Also, I'm heading back to school soon, but most of my classes don't start until after September so the updates will remain regular. **


	33. Things That Go Bump in the Night

**This chapter is a little longer to make up for not updating yesterday.**

The Monday after Christian went back to Lafayette Emily was due back at work, which brought about a problem. At fifteen weeks along, Emily had only been showing for week and a half, but this had to be the morning when putting on her pants was akin to building the Pyramids of Giza. Why did she have to have so many form-fitting pairs of pants? Why hadn't she invested in a pair of 'fat pants' years ago? Or maybe a pair of those sweatpants that looked like slacks. After rifling through her closet for what seemed like hours, Emily smiled proudly as she finally was able to find something that fit.

"I hope I'm not squishing you" She apologized as she lightly poked her small baby bump. "Well I guess now we have to add buy maternity clothes to our ever-growing list of things to do. Where should we live? What do we name you? Do you want to go to daycare or would you prefer a nanny stay with you? Is daddy going to try to hire a hot nanny?" Emily asked before frowning. "And now I'm talking to myself" She laughed as she finished getting ready, putting on the flowing white top she had worn to Mud Lake. Emily couldn't help but chuckle at how much her life had changed in a year. Last year she was having difficulty reintegrating into her old life and was seriously considering leaving the BAU. But now she was so content with her life in D.C. that she couldn't fathom leaving. Things were definitely looking up for Emily Prentiss.

Additionally, she had finally gotten over the morning sickness phase of her pregnancy and her energy was starting to return, even though there were other side effects that were bothering her. Hormonal sides effects that made her wish Christian was living in D.C. and not Satan's armpit. There was also the issue of him being recently shot and not being able to exert himself too much.

"Fucking Ray" Emily complained as she checked her bag. It had almost gotten to the point where a light breeze could turn her on and her boyfriend was twelve hundred miles away. She was briefly able to shake the thoughts from her head as she walked into the kitchen to pop a bagel into the toaster, but the desires came rushing back to her as she stared at the kitchen counter before her. A counter that could be useful for so many other things beside preparing food.

"Ugh, I hate my life" Emily groaned as she grabbed her bagel and headed out to the door, bidding Sergio goodbye before leaving.

* * *

Emily sighed as she approached the cluster of desks in the bullpen, immediately noticing that Garcia was sitting on her desk, waiting for the chance to begin her interrogation. "How was your time off Gumdrop?" Garcia asked with a wink.

"Fine" the brunette shrugged as Morgan leaned forward to join in on the line of questioning.

"Just fine huh?" He goaded as Emily rolled her eyes. She was in no mood to discuss her nonexistent sex life.

"Well I just wanted to know why you were so late today" Garcia shrugged as Emily glanced from her quirky friend to her partner. She really didn't want to talk about her pants issue in front of Morgan, which Garcia fortunately picked up on. "Well Jayje will be so mad if you don't check in with her. Come my princess" she encouraged as Emily nodded and placed her things on her desk, following the technical analyst up to JJ's office.

"Hey you" JJ greeted as she looked up from a case file she was working. "Why are you so late?"

"My pants don't fit" Emily admitted in an embarrassed tone.

"Well duh, what do you think maternity clothes are for?" JJ asked with a grin. "We are going shopping tonight…"

Garcia shot her arms into the air dramatically as if she had just won the lottery, "Oh my god! I'm so excited!"

"I don't want to get a bunch of stuff though" Emily warned.

"But you love shopping" Garcia stated with a confused look on her face.

"Not for pregnancy clothes. I mean have you ever seen anyone look good in maternity clothes?"

"Hey!" JJ scowled, "I looked cute in my maternity clothes."

"Yeah but you always look cute" Emily offered, trying to worm her way out of the accidental insult.

"Whatever" JJ said with a smirk as she waved her friend off. "I know what you're trying to do. But don't worry, you just need a couple of things anyway."

Emily nodded at the idea "I guess I'll get a few pieces for work and maybe a pair of dungarees..." she trailed off before she caught what she had said. "Oh God, what is happening to me?"

"It looks like Sinfully Delicious is rubbing off on you in more ways than one" Garcia winked as Emily and JJ shared a horrified look. How did the conversation go downhill so fast? "Which reminds me, details Gumdrop" the quirky woman demanded as she put her hands on her hips.

Emily rubbed her temples in frustration over the request, "There are no details because we did not do anything. I swear we didn't. Christian was just shot, it's not like that's what a doctor recommends."

"Em, I know how pregnancy hormones work" The blonde profiler informed her with an eyebrow raised. "How long has it been since? You know..."

"You know how long it's been" Emily huffed as she slumped down into JJ's extra chair. "Can we please talk about something else? Anything else?"

JJ nodded while trying to hide a small smile at her friend's misfortune, "What did you do this weekend?"

"Looked at real estate, argued about which newspaper to get for the house, went for a walk, Christian kind of proposed to me and I found this great new bakery" Emily stated nonchalantly as Garcia's mouth dropped open.

"W-what?"

"This bakery…" Emily teased before JJ cut her off.

"Stop right there Prentiss, what about Christian asking you to marry him?"

"Well he didn't really ask me, it was more of a statement. I'm paraphrasing here but I think it was something along the lines of 'Fuck, I think you should marry me'" Emily grinned as she scanned the bodies of her speechless friends.

"And you didn't lead with this?!" Garcia asked as she gestured wildly. "My Gumdrop is getting married to sinfully delicious and you don't even tell me?! And where is the bling? Show us the hardware Sydney Bristow!" She ordered in an excited voice as JJ nodded in agreement.

"I have no hardware. He gave me a chocolate bar."

"What?" JJ questioned. This was the most bizarre thing she had ever heard, and she had only married her husband after their child was already four years old and they had almost been blown up, twice.

"It was a spur of the moment thing. One minute I'm insulting him, the next he's telling me we should be together forever" Emily shrugged as if it was the most normal occurrence in the world.

Garcia's face contorted in confusion as she tried to sort everything out, "So where is the chocolate?"

"I ate it" Emily confessed as the two other woman simultaneously gave her dirty looks. "What?"

"You ate your engagement ring?" JJ asked with a smirk.

"Well it wasn't a ring."

"You should have saved it for your wedding" Garcia cut in as Emily shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm pregnant, if I see chocolate I'm going to eat it" Emily defended as JJ shared a look with Garcia.

"You eat any chocolate that you see even if you aren't pregnant" JJ teased as the room erupted into a fit of laughter. Emily had to admit that her friends were right. "But for the record, I love you proposal story because it is so you guys."

"I guess. I can't imagine anyone else proposing with a chocolate bar, but I should consider myself lucky that he didn't do it with a Patriots jersey, or a framed picture of JFK" Emily shrugged with a small smile. "Well, I better get back to work."

"Tonight after work" Garcia reminded the brunette, who nodded in response as she walked out the office door and headed back to her desk.

It was odd, and maybe a little unhealthy, but as much as she loved being home with Christian, Emily missed work. What was she going to do for three months of maternity leave? Sure she would be busy with the baby, but she was a Prentiss and therefore ingrained with a compulsion to work. And that brought about the her biggest fear.

In spite of the person could sometimes be, Emily loved her mother and she always had, even when she claimed not to. But there was a simple fact that explained why Emily and her mother had never been 'close,' and after years of searching for that explanation, Emily had finally discerned what it was when she was in her early thirties.

Interestingly enough, the conclusion she had come to had both emotionally pained and relieved her. Because in the simplest of terms, being a mother was never _enough _for Elizabeth Prentiss. Being a mother was not satisfying enough to warrant her full attention, which is why Emily was often passed off to various nannies and caretakers. Because she wasn't enough, and she never would be. It wasn't a matter of Emily being inadequate, it was just that Elizabeth Prentiss was not engineered to be a mother. It just didn't fulfill her, and in many ways it wasn't the elder Prentiss' fault. It was just the way she was. Some people just should not have children, and Elizabeth Prentiss was probably one of those people.

Nevertheless, she wasn't even what Emily would consider a bad mother. Emily had seen truly terrible parents in her work, parents who were unsubs, parents who led their children to become unsubs. Emily would even categorize Christian's father as a terrible parent, but her mother just wasn't. Her mother wasn't abusive or cruel. Her mother always ensured that she was cared for, that she was safe. Which, granted, didn't seem like much but when you worked at the BAU you saw that counted for a lot.

When it came down to it, Elizabeth Prentiss was what one could consider an indifferent parent. While some women, like JJ, would put 'mother' at the top of their responsibilities and achievements, Elizabeth put 'Ambassador' at the top of her list. And that worried Emily. It worried her because her most valued title in life had always been 'FBI Agent.' And now?

And now she was going to add 'mother' and possibly 'wife' into the mix. But the question remained, which would find its way to the top?

* * *

After a reluctant shopping trip with JJ and Garcia, Emily dropped her bags on the floor sank down on to her sofa, taking out her phone to call Christian. The shopping excursion had been fairly productive. She had bought some new clothing items and had endured an interrogation about Christian's proposal, which was very much a proposal because he had merely proposed that 'she should marry him.' Emily had to laugh at his choice of wording, mostly because he was right. She wouldn't have been upset if he never talked about marriage with her. It wasn't as if she thought he was going to run off with some Hooters waitress if he didn't wear a ring, in fact many men did that with a ring. Marriage was not a guarantee that things were going to work out, a fact that both Emily and Christian knew from first hand experience. But it was nice gesture nonetheless. Because despite how much Emily tried to convince herself otherwise, that stupid piece of paper mattered to her. She didn't understand how a piece of paper that cost less than $100 made everything feel so official, but it still did. It offered a sense of stability, even if it couldn't be considered permanent by any means. And while she was very aware of the fact that fifty percent of marriages ended in divorce, for some reason the ever-pragmatic Emily Prentiss couldn't picture herself and Christian as part of that group. Maybe because neither of them could stand anyone else.

Emily was shaken from her thoughts as Sergio made himself comfortable on her lap. "I have I feeling you're going to hate baby" Emily laughed she picked up her phone and dialed Christian.

"Hey Kid, you catch that Sox Game last night?" Christian questioned as he leaned back in his Lafayette office chair. The rest of the building, save for his office, was dark and most of everyone else had already gone home. That was the drawback of being promoted to upper level, your office was located in headquarters buildings, not bullpens that were always buzzing with officers.

"Oh is that what you did last night? Because you didn't call me" Emily responded in an annoyed tone, with Christian sensing that he was in trouble.

"Cool your jets Starsky, I was going to call you up but I had to drive down to fucking Abbevile to get the rest of my stuff. So first I hit up a store to get a bottle of water and who do I see but fucking Alonzo Gates. I swear I wasn't that shocked by someone's presence since I saw fucking Donny Wahlberg sharing a frappe with some broad in The Village."

"I have no idea what any of those words mean" Emily admitted with a chuckle, "Go on."

"After that fucking traumatic experience I get to my old fucking apartment and that motherfucking alligator-wrestling landlord prick threw away all my shit" he complained as Emily started snickering on the other end of the line. "It's not funny Emily, I have no stuff. I look like I live in a fucking mission."

"Because your apartment was so homey before" Emily teased with a smirk. "It looked like it was inhabited by a squatter."

"Are you criticizing my taste?"

"What taste?" Emily asked as she started laughing.

"Now you're making me all fucking weepy" Christian shot back in a sarcastic tone.

"And why do you always ask me if I watch the Red Sox games? You have to know by now that is never going to happen…"

"But I'm counting on you to raise our child a Sox fan from in-fucking-utero" he interrupted as Emily rolled her eyes. "But I'm sorry I didn't call you. I didn't get home until like 1am and I thought you should be sleeping for the sake of mini-me."

"Mini-you?" Emily inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Oh God what have I done?"

"Fuck you, I was the fucking Bobby Orr of babies" he shot back confidently as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Bobby Orr?"

"The greatest Hockey player ever."

Emily tilted her head in confusion, "I thought that was Wayne Gretzky?"

"Wayne Gretzky can go fuck himself" Christian replied over a yawn.

"You sound tired" Emily replied in a concerned tone. "Are you still at work?"

Christian sighed as he put the phone on speaker and rubbed his temples, "I work with a bunch of fucking igits. All my files are a fucking mess, they look like they were written in crayon by a fucking toddler or prison mental patient. Who teaches penmanship in Vermillion Parrish? A fucking raccoon on meth?" he complained as Emily grinned. "How was your day?"

"I had to buy new pants."

"That's exciting" Christian remarked in a distracted voice as he finished up one of his case files and shut off his computer. "But I didn't ask you what you did today, I asked you how your day was."

"It was fine. I guess I'm starting to feel a little unprepared. We haven't done anything for the baby" Emily admitted with a sigh. "We are quite possibly the most unprepared parents on earth."

"You're so fucking dramatic" Christian teased. "And this is your fucking fault anyway because you had the audacity to reject my wicked smart plan" he joked as Emily shook her head.

"You mean the one where I have to stay pregnant for a year? Yeah what an amazing plan you had there" Emily remarked sarcastically.

"Well what do you want to do?"

Emily bit her bottom lip as she thought of something they could get started on at 9pm at night. "What about a baby name list? But I swear to God Christian, if you try to sneak in any Boston sports related names I will end you."

"Okay…well, then, I got nothing" he admitted as Emily chuckled and repositioned herself so she was lying on the sofa.

"I like your name."

"Okay? But could get complicated real fucking fast. What if you got us confused?"

"Like if I yelled 'Christian you're getting a spanking?'"

"Yeah, that could get me real fucking excited for nothing" he joked as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Pervert" she playfully chided. "I mean it though, I like the way your name has a story behind it. I like that it relates back to your parent's story..."

"I have a feeling that it's going to be wicked hard to find a name that tells our story. I mean, how many baby names mean 'conceived during a fuck and chuck?'"

"Christian!"

"What?"

"Can you please not call it that?" Emily laughed.

"Well at least your were the chucker and not the chuckee" Christian remarked with a grin as Emily couldn't help but laugh. "All I am saying is that I have a feeling that list is going to be real fucking short. Unless we revisit the idea of Nomar…"

"I will hang up this phone" Emily threatened with a smile.

Christian ran his hands through his hair as he gazed out the window at the cloudy Louisiana night sky, "So what are we doing about a last name?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we hyphenating?"

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "I really don't want to. It's hard having a well-known last name. People always want something from you. Cavanagh is a nice name I guess…"

"You guess? Cavanagh is a fucking honor of a name. We're a fucking dynasty at Cedar Junction and fucking Framingham. Anyone can be a fucking Ambassador but how many bastards can rob a Stop and Shop? Fuck politics because that is a real fucking legacy" Christian sarcastically stated as Emily started laughing before thinking back to her mother.

"My mother called yesterday. She's going to be coming into town in a month and I need to tell her about everything. She'll want to meet you."

"Of course she'll want to meet me. Who wouldn't?" He asked with a smug look.

"Yeah I'm sure she'll just adore you" Emily stated with an eye roll as Christian laughed. "We just have to make sure that we change everything about your personality" she added with a lopsided grin.

"Fuck you, I'm perfect just way the I am."

"Oh definitely, you have no flaws."

"Obviously not" Christian chuckled. "Are you finally realizing how wicked lucky you are to have this grade-A catch?"

"Oh I thank the Gods everyday" she teased as she heard him yawning again on the other end of the phone, "Christian, go home and go to bed. I love you and I'll talk to you tomorrow" she gently ordered.

"Fine" he relented in a cranky tone that Emily found hilarious. "I love you too" he concluded as she hung up the phone and walked to bedroom to get ready for bed.

* * *

Emily was roused exceptionally early the next morning by her ringing cell phone, which signaled that the team had a new case. The team, including Garcia who would be traveling with them, was assigned to a serial rape case in New Orleans, which gave Emily an idea. "I have good news" Emily told Christian as she waited at the airstrip for the rest of the team.

"Which is?" Christian asked in sleepy voice as he turned over in his bed to notice the time. Why was Emily calling him at 5:30am? "First you tell me I need to sleep and now you're waking me up at five in the fucking morning? It takes a fucking legit beauty rest to look this good."

Emily scoffed at the smug remark before answering him, "New Orleans has a case for us" she hinted as Christian rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Oh our prayers have been answered" he sarcastically remarked with a yawn, not understanding where she was going with this. "Why the fuck are you telling me this at 5:30am?"

"Because we can meet up" Emily hinted, taking the silence on the other end of the line to mean that Christian was still confused. "You know _meet _up."

"What am I your fucking groupee? Am I expected to travel around the globe to fuck you?"

Emily laughed at the question, "There are worse jobs to have."

"That is a good point" Christian stated with a smirk. "Plus it's only a two-hour drive" he added as Emily nodded.

"Bring your A-game…"

"Have I ever not?"

"It's almost been four months, I have expectations" Emily stated with a small smile as the rest of the team started to walk up to her. "Call me when you get into town."

"Deal" Christian agreed as Emily hung up the phone before the team could hear what she was setting up.

* * *

The case in New Orleans was already shaping up to be a difficult one and Emily wanted nothing more than a physical release from all the tension that had been building over the past few months, which was why she was so pleased that she was able to easily slip away from the team. JJ had picked something up from Henry and Garcia was busy tending to her, so no one noticed when Emily snuck off at around 8pm to meet Christian for dinner. It had only been a week, but she already really missed him. As a result, as soon as she saw him her hormones were begging her to convince him to sneak into the restaurant's bathroom with her right then, which he totally would have done. But Emily was proud of the level control she had, which lasted until they made it to the car after dinner.

Her body was so sensitive and it had been so long since she had last been touched by him that Emily could have sworn she could have come undone just from making out in the car. After some more heavy petting in the elevator and the hallway by her hotel room, Emily had enough of foreplay.

"Get it open already" Emily ordered while kissing the back of Christian's neck as she start running her hands up and down his chest as Christian fumbled with the hotel key card. Growing impatient, Emily's hands drifted down as she unbuckled his belt and slid her hand into his pants, stroking his already hard member.

"Fuck" he groaned as he temporarily stopped trying to get door open and leaned his head against the door.

"Christian" Emily scolded as he shook himself from his daze. "Hurry up, I need this. I need you inside me, your hands all over my body."

"Oh god" he almost growled as she gave him a stern look. "I know, I know, sorry, sorry" he apologized as he continued to try to open the door, finally getting it open a few moments later as he turned around to face her, with her instantly stripping off his shirt, ripping the buttons as she did so.

"You're a fucking menace" he chuckled as Emily guided him into the completely dark hotel room, his pants falling to the floor as she pushed him on to the hotel bed, causing his body to collide with something.

"UNSUB UNSUB!" Garcia screamed at the top of her lungs as Christian's body fell on top of hers, the frightened technical analyst punching him in the eye before falling off the bed.

"Garcia?" Emily choked out as she tried to reign in her heavy breathing.

"Fuck!" Christian groaned as in pain as Morgan kicked open the door with JJ, their guns drawn.

"THIS IS THE FBI!" Morgan shouted until he noticed Christian in the bed, in his underwear, trying to cover his groin area with a pillow as JJ looked over to a flushed Emily and burst into a fit of laughter.

Meanwhile, Garcia took off her sleep mask and ear plugs, rubbing her back in pain as Emily ran up to her.

"Oh my God Garcia, let me help you up…" Emily offered with a horrified look as Garcia raised her hand to stop her.

"Oh no you don't, God only knows where THAT hand has been."

"I have a pretty good idea" JJ cut in as Emily shot her a dirty look.

"A statewide booty call, I didn't know Boston Barbie had it in him" Morgan teased.

"Fuck you and actually I think it was Emily who had it in…"

"Go ahead and finish that thought Christian and see what happens" Emily threatened as she gave the man a pointed look. "Keep going and having internet on your phone will come in real _handy_" she added as Christian slightly gulped before she turned her attention to Garcia. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I didn't want to share a room with contagion over there" Garcia said pointing to JJ, "And I thought I'd be safe with a pregnant lady. Little I know that our little Gumdrop was a freak in the sheets" Garcia giggled, checking out Christian's shirtless form as Emily noticed the man snickering in the bed.

"You think this is funny?" Emily asked incredulously as JJ and Morgan nodded and laughed.

"Well you're pregnant so they already know I fucked you. You're not the fucking Virgin Mary" he shrugged as Emily face palmed.

"Christian!"

"What?"

"You know what, all of you get out" Emily ordered with her hands on her hips.

"But this is my room too" Garcia spoke up as she raised a finger.

"GET OUT!"

"Okay" Garcia squeaked as the team members slowly backed out of the room with Emily slamming the door behind them.

"And you" Emily began as she faced a grinning Christian. "You have thirty seconds to get it together before I take care of things myself."

**I'm thinking of doing a gender reveal in the next chapter.**

**Don't worry, Christian is going to meet the Ambassador shortly and we're also going to get some insight into Christian's meeting with Strauss.**

**Thanks again for reading/reviewing it helps me continue to update daily.**

**Additionally, I wasn't planning on writing anymore mature scenes after the break up one, but who knows...**


	34. A Sexual Camel?

**I'm calling this chapter a 'real world' chapter before we get back to some more comedic moments, ****which will be coming up shortly. I have some definite plans...**

**Also, I have a friend whose Pre-Med, so if any of the medical stuff is wrong blame her, and Google.**

**And Derek Jeter.**

Sometimes you just get lucky. That's the only way Emily could explain how the team was able to close the New Orleans case in two days. They had caught a break, the unsub had escalated and he had made a mistake, but the success was bittersweet because it meant leaving Christian _again_. Emily was always an independent person, even as a child, so it was strange to care so much about being away from someone. And she knew it wasn't just the hormones.

Despite the conflicting feelings, Emily was able to go back home, which she was looking forward to because humidity is exponentially worse when your pregnant. Additionally, the more traditional South was a lot less welcoming of unwed mothers than D.C., which peaked Emily's interest in JJ and Will's relationship. There was a considerable amount of time where JJ flat-out refused to marry Will, which must have contrasted with his upbringing, probably hers too. But the entire idea of two people who were completely different making it work was extremely interesting to Emily, largely because that is how she saw herself and Christian. Sure they both had been undercover and were snarky, but they were very different people.

Christian was extremely emotionally guarded, relying on a façade of being an 'asshole' to keep others away at a comfortable distance. He was cautious with who he shared his true identity with, and he made sure that everyone knew it. However, when he did eventually open up he was fairly comfortable with exposing his innermost feelings.

Conversely, Emily appeared to be open with her emotions, unfazed by feelings, but, in reality, she had a difficult time opening up about her true emotional state. And while Christian was always blunt and brutally honest, Emily had learned to play her feelings a little closer to the chest. It was part of her upbringing. She was raised to conceal any unsavory emotions and file them away for stealthy breakdowns in the privacy of her own shower, much like her mother did before her. She was brought up to always be politically correct, to be always polite, even when you were in the company of those who you absolutely , Christian was the stereotypical Irish hot head, and you knew within ten seconds his feelings about you. It was something that Emily ordinarily loved, but after deciding to call her mother that coming week about her pregnancy, that specific trait made Emily a little nervous. What would Christian say to her mother? What would she say about him?

It wasn't that she needed her mother's approval, but she wanted it nonetheless. Relationships are hard enough as it is without having an in-law trying to pull you apart, a fact that Christian probably knew all too well. And now that there was a child involved the stakes were even higher. Nevertheless, while her pregnancy made everything inherently more complicated, Emily couldn't help but be grateful for it. Without it she might not have pushed herself to sort out her feelings about Doyle. This was because Emily had grown accustomed to the idea of allowing herself to suffer in silence, but she couldn't pass on that burden to her child. She couldn't allow herself to be a bad mother, so she uncharacteristically forced herself to address the issues that she would have attempted to compartmentalize forever. And then there was the fact that her unborn child compelled her to call Christian, which ended up saving his life.

It's funny how life can work. After Rome Emily had always been extremely cautious, careful so she would never find herself dealing with an unplanned again. She was thirty-nine years old, she knew better. She should have made Christian wear a condom. It wasn't like he never offered, but she just didn't care if he did, or maybe it was that subconsciously she didn't want him to. Regardless of _why_, to many outsiders, probably even including her own mother, the circumstances Emily found herself in could be described as a result of stupidly or lack of good sense. And maybe they'd be right.

But once again Christian and George Bernard Shaw permeated Emily's thoughts.

_What is life but a series of inspired follies?_

* * *

"Penny for your thoughts" Garcia requested with a grin as she sat next the Emily on the flight home, shaking the brunette from her internal ramblings. Everyone else in the cabin was taking a nap, except for Hotch, who was doing paperwork and Emily who was gazing out the plane's window, and apparently Garcia.

Emily gave the other woman a small smile, "I thought you were sleeping."

"I tried, but I just couldn't. Not even with my chocolate God by my side" Garcia admitted with a sigh. "And what about you my pregnant little kumquat? Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Honestly, for the first time in a while I'm actually not tired" Emily chuckled as she shuffled around in the seat to better face her quirky friend. "I'm also trying to figure out how to sway Christian in favor of a baby name I'm considering."

"Which is?"

"Okay bear in mind this is just a middle name" Emily prefaced as Garcia nodded for her to go on. "Decimus."

"Decimus?" Garcia repeated with a look of disgust. "Emster that is somehow worse than Rajon Rondo Cavanagh. Where did you come up with that?"

"It means tenth, like the tenth doctor, Dr. Who" she clarified as the technical analyst rolled her eyes.

"Who are you now, Reid?" Garcia teased as Emily scowled.

"You already know I'm a nerd."

"Oh there is no doubt in my mind now my raven haired superstar. No doubt at all…" the other woman drifted off as Emily started laughing. Maybe it wasn't her best baby name idea.

* * *

It was around 2am when Emily finally made it home. JJ had offered to drive her, because apparently being pregnant made her an invalid, but Emily declined. Maybe in a few months she would need more of the team's help, but this wasn't one of those times. The fact was that Emily savored her independence, and even though she loved her friends and Christian, there were times that she just needed to be alone. It was only child syndrome.

Emily meandered into her kitchen and went into her freezer to take out a container of ice cream, and that's when she noticed it. It was staring her right in the face in red ink. Although it had completely slipped her mind, according to her calendar she was supposed to call her OBGYN the day before to schedule another genetic screening test, part of the perils of being an older mother.

Because of her age, a few weeks prior Emily's OBGYN had recommended an Amniocentesis test to screen for any possible genetic abnormalities, namely Down syndrome. She had already had one test that had come back clean, but this was supposed to be more certain. Well, as certain as these sort of things could be. But, like anything else in life, the test had risks, risks that included miscarriage and infection. Due to all the stress with sorting things out with Christian and the new case, Emily had completely forgotten all about the test. However, the time had come where she had to make a decision to either do it or not, which meant that she this was just another thing she had to address with Christian. This was so stereotypical of being a first-time parent, not knowing what to do, just knowing that you have to make a decision either way. What it came down to was simple, Emily needed answers. She needed to start forcing them to sort things out, because Christian never would. Christian would just wait for the baby to come and then somehow find a way to blame the Yankees for the fact that they didn't have any baby things.

Emily sighed as she took a spoon out of her kitchen drawer and walked over to her sofa. It was late but she knew he would answer anyway, Christian always answered. But that didn't change how guilty she felt about calling him so late.

A few states over, Christian had accidentally fallen asleep at the office a few hours earlier after finishing up a few case files. His superiors were pissed that he was already leaving his job and were definitely taking it out on him in the form of paperwork. But Christian was determined to finish everything so he could move to D.C. by the the next week, so he stayed late. Which is how he found himself asleep on a pile on case files at 2:15am in the morning. That was until he heard his phone ringing from his desk. For a second he thought about just throwing it across the room so it would break and stop ringing, but then he worried that it could be Emily. But why would Emily be calling him at 2:15 in the morning? Christian felt a tightening in his chest as he hastily got up and grabbed the phone, feeling even more worried when his caller I.D. confirmed who it was. "Emily?" Christian questioned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"No, it's nothing like that" she assured him in a calm voice, feeling even more guilty that she had worried him. "I need to talk to you."

Christian took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, what's up? How was the rest of your day?"

"Frustrating" Emily admitted with a smirk.

"Work?"

"No Christian, _frustrating_" Emily responded, emphasizing the last work.

Christian chuckled as he quickly put the phone on speaker, "Oh is that so? Because if I remember correctly you seemed very satisfied like two fucking days ago."

"Exactly, that was days ago" Emily groaned as she leaned her head back against the sofa.

"I though you were like a fucking sexual camel though" Christian teased, enjoying this new side of his significant other.

"A sexual camel?" Emily repeated with a small chuckle. "Well it was a learned skill and I don't know what happened but the day after you leave I need to have sex. It's not even a want at this point, it's a need."

"So you need me to fuck you?" Christian asked with a smug look. Never before had Emily seemed so needy for sex, it was a nice change of pace.

"Obviously I want you to fuck me" Emily bluntly stated as Christian burst into a fit of laughter. "Or at least try the whole phone sex thing in the meantime."

"Oh how the mighty have fallen. You know I was fucking begging you for phone sex and you shut me down. You fucking sent me off to seminary school…"

"This is your fault!"

Christian scoffed at the accusation, "How is you acting like a fucking Californication extra my fault?"

"It's your pervert genes inside me that are turning me into a nymphomaniac" Emily huffed.

"Are you calling our innocent child a pervert?"

"Just your half" Emily smirked as Christian chucked and put his feet up on the desk. "It's fine, I'll just take of myself. I'm an independent woman" she teased as his face sunk.

"This is fucking bullshit!"

"Sorry" Emily shrugged with an evil grin before dropping her voice an octave, "Maybe if you hadn't made fun of me I would have obliged. And I would have made it worth your wild." She teased, chuckling as she heard him whining on the other end of the line. "Anyway I did need to talk to you about a few things."

"Oh so you didn't just call to fucking torture me?" Christian questioned as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Unfortunately not" Emily confessed as she became more serious. "We need to talk about something, an Amniocentesis."

Christian scratched the hair near his temple as he furrowed his brow, "What the fuck is that?"

"It's a genetic testing to see whether or not the baby will have different disabilities. My OBGYN recommended it because of my age…"

"So what's to talk about?" Christian asked, thoroughly confused about why pregnancy had to be so complicated.

Emily took a deep breath as she put her ice cream down and stretched out to lie down on the sofa, "There are risks involved."

"Like?"

"Infection, and possibly miscarriage" Emily informed him as Christian tensed on the other end of the line. What had started out as a fun conversation had become exponentially more serious in a matter of mere minutes. "But I really think it's worth the risk."

"You do?" Christian asked in an accusatory tone. "I don't get how it is."

"It's a small risk and I think it outweighs not knowing" Emily simply answered. She had spent a lot of time considering this and the more time she thought about it, the more she felt it was the best decision. Christian, on the other hand, didn't have much time to process it and responded as such.

"What are the fucking numbers we're talking about?"

"One in three hundred…"

Christian shook his head on the other end of the line, "Yeah but there had to be a fucking one to make the odds. What if you're that one? Did you consider that?"

"Yes, but it's going to drive me crazy wondering, and if you find out sooner you can find a way to cope with it."

"Do you mean _deal_ with it?" He asked in a harsh voice, which he immediately regretted because of what it seemed like he was implying. He didn't want it to seem like he was using her past against her. "I'm sorry I, fuck Emily, that was a real shitty thing for me to say. I'm really sorry I'm being a complete dick about this. I don't mean it like that, I'm just freaking out. I'm fucking freaking out" he admitted as he started to breathe more rapidly. "This is all so fucking real. Like one minute we're having a baby and the next maybe it's a disabled baby and I don't even know how to raise a regular fucking baby. And I'm already fucking everything up because I know it's looked down upon to classify babies as 'regular' and 'irregular.' I've never fucking held a baby. What do you do with babies? Do you fucking read to them all the time? Do I just hold it all day? What do they do all day? I really don't know, what do you do?" He rambled as Emily cut him off.

"Christian" she interrupted in a firm voice. "You need to relax. It's going to be okay" she reminded him as she tried to stifle a chuckle. Normally it was Christian telling her everything was going to work out, but he was really freaking out, and she knew why. It was likely because, much like herself, he hadn't grown up with the best parental role model. He was probably already nervous about being a father to a completely healthy child, and the idea of them having a child with disabilities made him even more unnerved.

"Okay" he repeated as he rested his head on his desk. "I just didn't even think this was a possibility, but I don't want to lose it either way."

"I know" Emily remarked in a gentle tone. "But I think knowing either way is a better alternative than worrying the entire remaining five months of my pregnancy. Plus, if there is a problem don't you want some time to process everything, preferably before we have a screaming baby in the house?"

"To be honest, it doesn't feel real to me. It doesn't feel like it's going to happen" Christian admitted as Emily felt a wave of guilt pass over her.

Part of why Christian was having a difficult time adjusting was because she had only just told him. Maybe if she had told him sooner, and if he had gone to one of her OBGYN appointments, it would have given him more time to come to terms with everything. And she felt like that was on her. Just a month before he thought he was single and now he was engaged and expecting a child in a little over five months. That's a lot for a person to comprehend all at once, and Emily felt he earned a little 'freak out.' It was her turn to reassure him that everything was going to work out. Everything in life eventually did.

"I think knowing will be a good thing, and with everything in life there are risks. That's life. But I think in this case, it's worth being able to be prepared…"

"I won't be able to go with you" Christian interjected apologetically. "I can't take the time off."

Emily nodded, "I'll ask JJ or Morgan to drive me. But the reason I called was to make sure it was okay with you. It's your decision too and if you don't want to do the test, we don't have to."

"I just wish there was a clear-cut answer. Like do this and not that" Christian admitted as Emily laughed.

"Christian this is parenting, there is no clear-cut answer" She told him before deciding to clarify what she meant. "Okay, I've been reading a few parenting books…"

"Don't tell me we're those people now. You know, people who read" Christian stated in a playful snarky tone.

"Shut up, I'm trying to help calm your panicky ass" Emily shot back with a grin before going on. "So one parenting book says that sharing a bed with your baby is better for brain development, because the infants often sleep better with their parents, and that it also aids with developing emotional connections, because they develop a real closeness with their parents. However, this other book that my OBGYN recommended says that sharing a bed puts the child at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and can stunt them emotionally…"

"So either way we're fucked" Christian cut in with a sigh.

"And that, JJ tells me, is parenting. There is no 'right' answer. You just do the best you can and sometimes you're wrong and sometime you're right" Emily shrugged as Sergio cuddled into her side.

Christian scratched his jaw line before taking a deep breath, "You thrive on control. Don't even fucking argue it because we both know you do. And there is so much about this you can't control. You can't control the gender, or when the baby comes or what it'll look like and you can't control if it's fine or not. I get that is fucking terrifying for you, it's foreign to you. But even though we can't control jack shit, we can at least know."

"So is that a yes?" Emily asked hopefully with an eyebrow raised.

"That is a yes" Christian confirmed with a nod. "I think you're probably right."

Emily couldn't help but smile at the statement, and not because Christian had admitted she was right. It was because for the first time, she felt that they could do this. They had gone from panic mode to making an adult decision together, and Christian had done it without an ounce of sarcasm or snark. Because he was telling the truth when he suggested they get married, he was really in this with her.

"Do we want to know the gender?"

"What the kind of fucking question is that?" Christian asked incredulously. "I don't get the whole 'I want this to be a surprise' schtick. The fact that you're fucking pregnant is surprise enough. We need to sort this shit out."

Emily laughed at the statement, "So I'll schedule it and when we find out we need to start buying baby stuff. And we need to find a place to move to because I don't want to paint a nursery twice."

Christian scoffed at her choice of wording, "Yeah because _you're_ going to be the one stuck painting."

"Well considering I'm the one that's stuck being pregnant and pushing a bowling ball out of my body, I was thinking of outsourcing to that honor to my baby daddy" Emily grinned.

"So Morgan then?" Christian asked as Emily erupted into a fit of laugher.

"You got me."

"I fucking knew I was just the fucking patsy."

"Yeah because it's not like we ever had sex" Emily sarcastically stated with an eye roll. "Which reminds me, can you imagine me running my fingernails down your back tattoo as I nibble on your earlobe?" She asked in a seductive voice that made him shiver.

"I'm at work! There are security cameras here. I can't fucking do this!" Christian yelled in a frustrated voice as Emily tried to cover her mouth to stop from laughing.

"Wait, why are you are work?"

"I fell asleep doing paper work. I swear my bosses are a bunch of pricks who love to fuck me over."

"Say fuck again" Emily requested as she heard Christian groan on the other end of the phone.

"Give me like 15 minutes to get home…"

"Sorry but I can't wait that long. Bye baby, I love you" Emily teased with a lopsided grin as she hung up the phone.

"FUCK!" Christian yelled as he pounded on his desk. "What is this, fucking Zero Dark Thirty? Am I marrying fucking Dick Cheney?" he complained as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

**Okay I promise in the next chapter Emily calls her mother and the chapter after that will reveal the gender and start to set up some more comedic scenes as Emily and Christian prepare to become parents.**

**Also coming up will be a Strauss scene, and maybe a birthing class scene. That'll go over well...**

**Thank you again for all the reviews and if you haven't left one yet please do. **


	35. Calling The Ambassador

******Someone told me Paget Brewster is from Boston too. I tell you our town is full of winners. I feel homesick already. **

**Thanks again for all the reviews. You guys are the best and keep me posting. I have a few more chapters planned out before offspring arrives, which will start to wrap things up. But don't worry, nothing is ending just yet, unless everyone is ready for it to end. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews.**

**Just a heads up, I'm starting back up at school, but I'm planning on being able to still post regularly since I have a few chapters planned out in advance. Big Papi is injured, The Red Sox aren't doing that great this season, and one of my professors is a total dick so I deserve some joy in my life right? **

The day after her phone call with Christian, Emily scheduled her Amniocentesis test for the next week, which JJ graciously offered to take her to. It was relief because even though the entire team had been supportive of her, Morgan and JJ were the easiest to ask for help. Garcia had always made herself available as well, but Morgan and JJ were a more calming presence. If Emily wanted someone to celebrate good news with Penelope Garcia was on her top of her go to list, but when she needed to talk when Christian wasn't available, Morgan and JJ were her best allies.

"I'm sorry you have you have to go through this" the blonde offered as she sat next to Emily in the office examination room.

"It's fine" Emily waved her off.

This was just part of life, she was older and as a result there were more risks involved. It was almost comical that the one friend Emily had that had been pregnant before had such a different experience than her. JJ didn't have to worry about fixing a broken relationship with Will, JJ didn't have to be concerned about monitoring her blood pressure or having multiple tests done to check for abnormalities or possible compilations. But then again, JJ hadn't broken up with Will or had an illegal abortion abroad or was going to turn forty before she delivered her baby. And Emily would never admit it, but she would never trade Christian for Will. Because sure, Will as a nice guy, some might even consider him a great guy, but Emily would eat him alive. Christian on the other hand, well Christian was Christian Cavanagh and that was the only way to explain it.

It had only taken half an hour and one needle poke before Emily was done. Her OBGYN was also kind enough to take a sonogram, which Emily intended on giving to Christian. But after a pointed look from her blonde friend Emily ended up requesting four copies, one for her, one for Christian, one for JJ and one for Garcia. Emily had been cautioned of the warning signs that should send her straight to the hospital and was ordered on bed rest for twenty-four hours, which just _thrilled_ her. But to appease the unhappy brunette, her doctor had requested two tests from the sample she had taken. This way some preliminary results would be ready in three days while Emily and Christian waited for the rest of the results over the course of the next two to three weeks. But at least she would know the gender and some of the results fairly soon.

* * *

"I wish I got to know Henry's gender at sixteen weeks" JJ complained as she followed Emily into her apartment.

"Yeah because this is so ideal Jayje" Emily sarcastically replied with a smirk.

"Sorry" the other woman offered as Emily kicked off her shoes and sunk into her bed. "So what are you hoping for, boy or girl?"

"I'd be happy with either" Emily honestly answered. It sounded so cliché, but all she truly wanted was a healthy baby. However, while she would be happy with either, she did have a preference. She thought that she was better fit to parent a specific gender, but she just wasn't going to tell anyone else which one it was just in case.

"Okay, well what are we watching?"

"Hmm?" Emily asked as JJ sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Well I'm not going to just leave you. I'm staying for the rest of my lunch break and then Pen is coming to work from your house."

"JJ you don't have to do that…" Emily began before JJ raised a hand to stop her.

"It's my duty as your best friend so no arguments allowed. Plus, we both know that baby daddy is a nervous wreck already without you being home alone. So what are we watching, and don't say Star Wars or Game of Thrones" She warned with a knowing look.

Emily cross her arms and sighed, "Fine, let's just watch something mindless. What about that movie Leap Year?"

"Hey I bought you that movie" JJ complained as Emily smirked.

"I know and it almost killed my love for Amy Adams, which is really saying something" the brunette teased as JJ started laughing. "And can you bring me my phone? I left it in the living room."

"Sure" JJ offered as she departed from the room and hurried back with the cell phone. "I'll give you some privacy and go get that movie. Are we ordering pizza?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Emily grinned as she took the phone and dialed Christian, with the man answering on the first ring.

"Hey kid, how was everything? How are you feeling?" He asked in a warm concerned voice as he places his elbows on his desk and leaned forward, his body rigid.

"A little sore, but other than that I feel fine" Emily admitted. It was strange for her to admit any sort of physical discomfort, but she was trying this new 'honesty is the best policy' thing with Christian since her withholding tendencies had almost derailed their entire relationship.

"I'm sorry. Fuck, I wish I could be there."

"Christian you're being here would be nice but it wouldn't take away any physical discomfort."

"I know" he replied in an apologetic voice, with Emily sensing how worried about her he truly was. "I just want to make sure you're okay. I wish I could see it for myself."

"I know you do, but this is just the way it is for now. It's only temporary" She reminded him before opting to change the subject, hoping that he would feel better. "But after all of this I expect you to change every dirty diaper."

"Fuck" Christian groaned as he pulled at his hair, "This is going to fucking suck."

"Oh because childbirth is such a picnic" Emily shot back with a small smile. "What are you doing?"

"Eating a grinder."

"Translation" Emily requested with a grin.

"I am eating a fucking sandwich, is that clear enough? I swear you can speak a thousand fucking languages and somehow you can't figure out what I'm saying. I call fraud" he teased with a smile.

"Whatever" Emily replied with an eye roll. "By the way, you know how some fathers gain sympathy weight with their pregnant partners?"

"Yeah?" Christian asked, confused by where she was going with this line of thinking.

"You're not allowed to do that" Emily commanded with a grin.

Christian shook his head in disbelief at the order, "What the fuck is this? Are you fucking body shaming me now?"

"I'm just putting that out there" Emily shrugged.

"That is wicked fucked up kid."

"Take it up with my complaints department. Anyway, umm, I'm calling my mother and telling her about the baby, prepare yourself…" She trailed off nervously.

"Prepare myself? What the fuck is she going to do to me? Is she a ninja that's going to shoot me with a fucking poisoned dart?"

Emily shook her head at the image, "Well to be fair, she is a woman of many skills."

"Don't worry about it Starsky, your mom will fucking love me" he confidently stated with a grin.

Emily scoffed at the remark, "And why do you think that? She doesn't even like me."

"Exactly, that's you. I, on the other hand, am charming as fuck" He stated in a matter of fact tone as Emily started laughing.

"Where is this charm I've heard so much about? I swear it's like Bigfoot, some weirdo thinks it exists but I've never seen any proof."

"Fuck you, if I wasn't charming how would you have gotten pregnant?"

"Oh because it was your charm that got me pregnant" Emily sarcastically stated before laughing again. "I thought it was something else entirely."

"Fuck, why are you so dirty all the time?" Christian asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hormones" Emily sighed. "I honestly don't know which is worse, this or when I was constantly vomiting my guts out."

"Five days" Christian reminded her as someone opened up his office door. "What the fuck you doing? Do you not know how to knock? Is there a sign that says Lieutenant Cavanagh: feel free to approach me with your thoughts and fucking dreams about life?" He incredulously asked as Emily started chuckling on the other end of the line.

"You are such an asshole."

"It's my best fucking quality."

"It's your only quality" Emily laughed as Christian scowled on the other end of the line. "But all of your flaws aside" Emily stated with a smile, "You do have to meet my mother. And we should start figuring out baby names…"

"Well you rejected all of mine" Christian interjected.

"Because they were all just so wonderful" she sarcastically remarked with an eye roll. "I was thinking for a girl maybe Juliet."

Christian lightly swallowed as he clutched the phone a little harder, "That was my mother's name."

"I know."

"I just…" Christian drifted off a with a sigh, signaling to Emily that he really didn't want to talk about it right then. He was at work, it wasn't the right time, and Emily completely understood that. "Whilst we're on the subject of family, my grandparents fucked me over again."

"What happened?"

"I checked those accounts I was telling you about" Christian began as he leaned back in his chair and scratched his jaw line. "The fucking trust stopped paying out a year after I inherited it because get this, they revoked it..."

"But there was almost a quarter million dollars in that account when I…" Emily drifted off before cringing.

Christian shook his head at the comment, "Well my little fucking intrusive wife-to-be there should be more, but unfortunately for you there isn't."

"It's still a lot of money."

"Yeah" Christian sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "You'll probably have to put most of the down payment on the house though. I'm sorry…"

"Christian stop making the money issue such a big deal" Emily interjected in a firm voice. "We don't live in the stone age, I am perfectly able to pay for things."

Emily heard him take a deep breath on the other end of the phone, "You're right, I'm acting like I whiny little bitch. I should be celebrating the fact that I bagged a hot heiress and stop acting like I suffer from TDS."

"Yes you should. TDS?"

"Tiny dick syndrome" he clarified as she shook her head in disbelief. Where did Christian come up with this stuff? "But what else are those fucking assholes useful for if not money? You know what, I hate them more than fucking Eli Manning and fucking Kobe Bryant" he added as Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"But not Derek Jeter?"

"Fuck Jeter, Derek Jeter is my Lex Luthor."

"So in this scenario you're Superman?" Emily questioned with a lopsided grin. "You know what? I'm so glad that I'm with a man who has no ego problem whatsoever."

"Shut the fuck up" Christian laughed before getting more serious. "But this is a good thing, now we know not to introduce spawn to the Markhams."

"Can you please stop calling our baby spawn? It sounds almost satanic" Emily complained as she ran her free hand through her hair.

"Fucking satanic? Where do you come up with this shit?"

"Oh that's rich coming from you. You say the most insane things I've ever heard. Well on a more parental note, we also need to find a house."

"Just pick one, I don't fucking care. You see where I live. If we have neighbors who aren't cousin spouses who bathe in a fucking swamp than it's a fucking step up for me" he bluntly stated as JJ joined Emily on the bed.

"Well that does cut down on our options because I specifically searched for houses that have four bedrooms and neighbors who bathe in a swamp" Emily sarcastically commented as JJ cracked up laughing beside her. "By the way, do you cook?"

"I can make pancakes" he shrugged. "Why?"

"I'm just trying to figure out what you bring to this relationship.

"Fuck you, that's what I bring to this relationship" he confidently shot back with a smug look as Emily tried to stifle a sudden burst of laughter.

"Well JJ is here so I should go. Call me when you get off work?"

"Sure thing Starsky, and don't be a such a fucking menace. Let someone else take care of you. Deal?"

"Fine" Emily relented. "Okay I love you and try not to crush anyone's spirit today."

"I cannot promise that" Christian laughed. "Love you too, and I'm serious. Take it easy for the sake of the spawn and I'll call you later" he concluded in a gentle tone as he hung up the phone, shouting at a subordinate as he did so.

"How is double C?" JJ asked as she turned on the TV.

"Double C? Is that why you're calling him now?" Emily asked as JJ nodded. "He's fine, nervous."

"Well that's normal" the blonde assured her friend with a pat on the knee. "I think every man goes through that…"

"Well Christian has never been around kids. Not to mention that he's young" Emily interjected as she bit her bottom lip. "If you told me two years ago that I would be having a baby with a man who is nine years younger than me, listens to rap music, proposed with a bar of chocolate from the airport, and who would have no vocabulary left if he couldn't say 'wicked' or 'fuck' I'd think you were insane."

JJ couldn't help but nod in agreement before starting the movie. Life is nothing if not unexpected.

* * *

After JJ headed back to the office, Garcia had shown up, surprisingly allowing Emily to have a nap, which she definitely needed. It had been about two hours since Emily had called Christian when she woke up and decided that she needed to call her mother. Garcia was working on her computer in Emily's living room, which gave the brunette a bit of privacy to do so.

Emily took a deep breath and she scrolled through her contacts to find her mother's latest phone number. Maybe she was acting like she was going to the electric chair rather than just calling her mother, but Emily knew that this phone call could either go really well or really poorly. Emily bit her bottom lip as her mother answered on the third ring.

"Emily?" Elizabeth Prentiss answered in a surprised voice.

"Hi Mom, how, how are you?" Emily awkwardly asked as she bit her bottom lip. _Like a band aid, like a band aid. _

"I'm doing well, and you? Are you canceling on dinner?"

"No" Emily responded a little too quickly. "It's not that, it's, umm, I'm pregnant" Emily blurted out, hitting her forehead after doing so. She was nearly forty years old and telling her mother she was pregnant was still uncomfortable.

"That is truly wonderful news Emily" Her mother replied in a kind tone. "I assume there is a man involved."

Emily scoffed at the question, "Yes mother, I have many gifts, but procreating on my own is not one of them."

"Emily sarcasm" Elizabeth warned as her daughter rolled her eyes. She could have sworn she was seventeen again. "And you know how it is nowadays with the lesbians and professional women. Those women have children quite frequently without a man involved." Emily couldn't help but roll her eyes again at the statement. Little did her mother know that just a few years ago Emily was considering becoming a single parent without a man involved. In fact, just about a month ago she was preparing herself for the idea of being a single parent.

Emily ran her free hand through her hair before moving it to gently rest on her baby bump, "Well I am seeing someone if that's what you're concerned about."

"Very well, I expect you will be bringing him to dinner when I am in town."

"Yes" Emily cringed. So far this was going well, emphasis on 'so far.'

"And how far along are you?"

Emily's body tensed at the question, "Sixteen weeks."

"I see" her mother responded in a firm tone, obviously not too thrilled about being kept in the dark so long. "How long have you been involved with this man?"

"A year" Emily answered, leaving out the 'off and on' part and taking the silence on the other end of the line to mean that she needed to explain herself. "I would have told you sooner, but I wanted to make sure that it was happening before I did."

"I do wish that I could have met this man before you decided to have a child with him" Elizabeth scolded as Emily opted not clarify that there was no _decision_ or planning that went into their baby. _Note to self, remind Christian that the Ambassador will not take to the phrase 'fuck and chuck.' _"Regardless, bring him along to dinner. I'm sure he's pleasant."

Emily smirked at the statement, "I've actually heard someone compare his charms to the late John F. Kennedy."

"Is that so?"

"Oh definitely" Emily replied in matter of fact tone as she tried not to laugh and decided to leave out that it was actually Christian who categorized himself as 'Jack Kennedy level charming.'

"Well I look forward to it. I really must be going now. Goodbye Emily" her mother cordially concluded as she hung up the phone.

"Goodbye mother, I've really enjoyed speaking with you too" Emily chuckled as she dropped the phone back on the bed as Garcia ran into the room.

"I brought Bridesmaids!" The technical analyst exclaimed, holding up the DVD case as Emily brightened up and patted the empty space on the bed next to her. The other woman quickly picked up on the hint and popped in the DVD, jumping in the bed beside Emily, who winced in pain. "Oh my God! What did I do?! MY BABY?! WHYYYYYYY?!" Garcia called out as Emily shook her head.

"It's normal cramping" the brunette reassured her friend. "The doctor warned me about it. Also, what do you think dramatically yelling out 'why' is going to accomplish if something did happen?"

"It was just a gut reaction" Garcia defended as Emily burst into laughter. "So you ready for movie time?"

"Yeah, but if there's no popcorn I will burn this place down to the ground" Emily hinted with a pointed look as the technical analyst enthusiastically nodded and left the bed. "And try not to throw yourself on the bed when you come back" Emily reminded with a smile

Okay, maybe Penelope Garcia wasn't the best person to have in case of emergency, but her unique set of skills did lend themselves to be able to brighten up any situation, even bed rest.

* * *

It had been three days, three excruciating and tortuous days of waiting before the preliminary test results came in. Emily had gone down to her doctor's on her lunch break, finding out that there was no genetic abnormalities with 13th, 18th, or 21st chromosomes. And even though the rest of the results would come back in a few weeks, it looked like everything was going to be completely fine. There was no reason to think otherwise. After letting out a deep breath that she didn't even know she was holding in, Emily walked to her car holding the test results the doctor had given her. They were in a white envelope and contained the baby's gender, the gender that Emily decided to wait on learning until she called Christian. Solidarity right?

Five minutes after arriving at the BAU Emily was going crazy wondering about the results, and the team, save for Reid and Hotch, were making it even worse.

"So?" Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow as he returned from lunch. "What are we having?"

"_We_ are not having anything" Emily shot back with an eye roll. "I don't know" she added with an apologetic look, regretting having snapped at the man.

"Why not? I thought today was the day. As the godparents baby girl and I are going out of our minds…"

"Oh and I'm not? Stupid Christian has stupid meetings all day and I can't call him until six. Six o'clock in the fucking evening" Emily complained as she rested her head on her desk. "It's bad enough he's not here for any of this, but now I have to wait for six more hours for fucking solidarity…and what did you say?"

"What?" Morgan asked, trying to feign innocence after realizing that Emily had heard his little Godfather power play slip.

"You said 'as the godparents.'"

"No, I said as the God, pause, parents. Because you and Boston Barbie are the parents" Morgan tried to cover as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah sure you did" She sarcastically stated before narrowing her eyes at her partner, "He hates it when you call him that."

"No Princess, you hate it when I call him that. Cav doesn't care. He actually told me last week that Barbie wished she had his looks" Morgan remarked with a smile.

"When did you talk to Christian?"

"We text almost everyday" Morgan answered proudly.

Emily chucked before getting up to make a cup of tea, "Well you two make a very attractive couple. But I would warn you about hitching your wagon to Garcia if you're making a play towards being the Godfather" Emily added with a grin as Morgan's face sunk. How was he going to break it to the technical analyst that he was joining forces with JJ?

**Remember that Christian did go through a traumatic event, which will be addressed later. There are a few instances of foreshadowing that I'm going to be leaving in the meantime. **

**Additionally, the gender is revealed in the next chapter. What will it be...**


	36. Eminem's Body Double

**Thanks again for all of your reviews. It makes the writing process more fun, which, in turn, motivates me to update regularly. So we all win. **

**Today is gender reveal day. **

After what turned out to be the longest day ever, Emily rushed home and sank into her bed, mindlessly watching the weather channel until receiving a phone call from Christian, who had been packing up the last of his clothes. The next day would be his last in Louisiana. The plan was for him to leave Saturday afternoon and make it to D.C. by mid-Tuedsay morning.

"Hey, I thought you had a meeting until 6?" Emily asked as she looked to her watch.

"I told everyone I had food poisoning and went home. What are they going to do to me, fucking fire me?" He laughed as Emily shook her head. "How are you feeling?"

"My back hurts, but other than that I'm fine."

"I wish you felt better" Christian responded in a gentle voice. He hated not being around to offer her some sort of help, despite how 'helpful' he could really be in the situation at hand.

"You owe me back rubs" Emily ordered with a smirk.

"Is that so your highness?"

"Yes it is so. Right baby? Baby says so too" Emily told him in a matter of fact tone as Christian laughed as he threw a pile of clothes into a box.

"I don't know if I like you and spawn conspiring against me like this. This is wicked fucked up, it's like a fucking conspiracy."

"Oh boo hoo" Emily sarcastically stated with a lopsided grin as she ran her hands over her small baby bump, which was finally starting to give her the appearance of being pregnant. "So first, the doctor said that baby is as big as an avocado and has all of it's limbs and joints formed. Oh, and he said that it can probably suck it's thumb now."

Christian scratched the hair near his temple in confusion, "That's nice, but I thought that your doctor was a woman."

"Yeah my OBGYN is, I was talking about Dr. Reid" Emily laughed as Christian shook his head while a smile crept across his face.

"That kid needs a fucking hobby. But really, how is everything?"

Emily took a deep breath and leaned back against the headboard of the bed, "Everything is good so far. In two weeks we'll get the full results but the possibility that something is wrong is very slim."

"Good" Christian sighed as he sat down on his bed. "I have to admit that I've been a nervous fucking wreck. I swear to God I feel like a fucking reality TV divorcee who needs a Xanax to get through the day."

"Have you been sleeping?" Emily asked, already knowing the answer.

"No" he admitted with a sigh. "I just want to come home."

Emily nodded and softly responded, "I know."

"Everything is starting to feel so real but it doesn't feel real at the same time. I've never felt more confused in my entire life. I feel like if I'm there and not just hearing everything fucking second-hand like a prick it'll be easier" he nervously admitted as Emily took a deep breath.

"I think that's probably normal. It wasn't like you signed up for any of this…"

"I did sign up for it" Christian interrupted firmly. "I just thought I'd be less of a fucking disaster and more, I don't know, confident about all of this. I don't get fucking nervous about anything. I never get shaken up, but this is different. I feel like I have no idea what to do. What if I fuck everything up?"

"I don't think you'll fuck everything up. Most things, but not everything" Emily joked which made Christian laugh, immediately giving him a small sense of relief. "Really though, I think you'll end up being a great dad, it's just new. It's not like I know what I'm doing either."

"But you seem so much more together than me."

"Well I've known longer and it's hard not to know this is real when you're throwing up nonstop for three months until your pants suddenly don't fit" She replied in a matter of fact tone with a smirk.

"If my pants don't fit my cruel fiancée is going to put me on a fucking juice cleanse" he quipped as Emily could tell he was starting to feel better.

"She sounds brilliant."

"She's something all right. Brilliant? Maybe in an evil genius sort of way. She even has the fucking cat to pet whilst she carries out her evil machinations against me."

"You sound like you got extremely lucky with her" Emily laughed. "This is driving me insane, are we ready to know? I've got the envelope here."

"Fuck yeah we're ready, I'm going fucking heart attack waiting here" Christian groaned. "Do you have a preference?"

"Honestly? Yeah I do."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Nope" Emily answered in a serious tone as she started to carefully rip open the sealed enveloped.

The fact was that she did have a preference, but if she didn't ever want her child to know. She was sure that she would love her and Christian's baby regardless of the gender. Emily bit her bottom lip as she scanned the results, finding the one piece of information she didn't already know at the bottom of the page. A red pen circled the sex chromosomes with the gender written down and underlined. But Emily knew basic biology and didn't need the doctor's labeling to know what she was having, and she couldn't help but smile at the news. It was what she had wanted all along, an 'X' and a 'Y.'

Emily laughed and shook her head before speaking up, "We are having a boy."

Christian grinned at the news, "Boy?"

"Boy" Emily confirmed with a chuckle.

"Are you okay with that?" Christian asked as he cleared his throat.

"Yeah I'm really happy about that. Of course I'd be really happy with a girl too, but my mom and I always had a strained relationship and, I don't know, I see the connection JJ has with her son. I want that too. I don't want mother and daughter tension."

"He's going to be a fucking menace like his mother, a total mama's boy. I can already tell" Christian laughed.

"Like his dad was" Emily softly added as Christian nodded on the other end of the line.

"Like his dad was" Christian repeated as he inhaled sharply as a sense of sadness tinged the air. "But wow, this is going to be a-fucking-mazing. I'll teach him how to play football, hockey, basketball, and fucking baseball. He's going to be a Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Pats fan. I have to get him a St. Christopher's Medallion!" Christian added with the excitement evident in his voice.

"And we have to watch Dr. Who, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Star Wars with him. And we can read The Hobbit to him, ooh and don't forget about Vonnegut when the time comes" she added as she heard Christian groan on the other end of the phone. "It's nice not calling him 'it' anymore huh?"

"Yeah, that was wicked creepy Kid" Christian nodded as he cracked his back. "The Oracle is going to be fucking pissed."

"But maybe she'll quit bothering me about being the godmother. Also, there is less of a chance that she'll try to kidnap him."

"Well that's a bonus" He laughed as he thought back to Emily's unique group of friends. "But D.M. and I are playing fantasy baseball together so he's our Godfather" Christian added, which briefly confused Emily.

"D.M.?"

"Derek fucking Morgan, your partner. What the fuck is this? Goddamn pregnancy brain?"

"No, I just didn't realize you guys played fantasy baseball together too" She answered with a small smile. It was nice to know that Christian had connected with the members of her team. She already knew that he liked Hotch and JJ, and apparently Morgan too. Emily also found it hilarious that Christian seemed to get along well with Garcia.

Christian merely shrugged in reply before changing the subject, "Do you have any name ideas you've been working on?"

"I have an idea for a middle name" Emily began as she got up to turn the air conditioning down. She hated being hot all the time. "I was thinking Gabriel because it relates back to your guardian angel tattoo. I always want him to remember that he has someone watching over him, protecting him. I don't ever want him to forget that. I don't ever want our son to question why we do what we do, even if it means I'm away. Maybe it's stupid…"

"No I like it" He interjected with a smile. "Something Gabriel Cavanagh, I like it. What about Lucas?"

"Lucas pucas" Emily replied with a shrug. "I don't want him to be teased."

"Graham?"

"Graham cracker."

"Thomas?"

"Do not say Brady" Emily threatened with a smirk.

"Umm Philip?"

"I'm not feeling it. I don't just want a name that flows well with Cavanagh. I want a name that means something to us and him."

"Kennedy?"

"Christian" Emily laughed. "Stop trying so hard to Bostonize our son. Patrick?"

"That's my father's middle name. You want him to become a fucking shanty Irish drunk criminal like my father and grandfather? No thank you."

"Joseph?"

"Gimpy Joe was a wicked strange coke dealer Jimmy used to work with. It kind of ruined the name" Christian sighed. "Picking a baby name is wicked hard. The poor kid is stuck with it for the rest of his life. What about Matthew? Like your friend..."

Emily smiled sadly at the suggestion, "That's very sweet of you, but I want our son to have a name with a different story. I loved Matthew, but it'd be hard…"

"There are other names" Christian offered. "We can try narrowing down our options by cutting out any names we can't use. Obviously Jack, Jackie, James, Ray, Ian, Donny, Dickie Skidder, Mickey hummer, Red Sam, and Fat Tony are out."

"Definitely" Emily confirmed with a laugh. "Mickey hummer?"

"You don't want to know" Christian answered with a chuckle.

"Okay then, and we would never name our son 'Fat Tony.' He'd get a complex."

"Says the woman who threatened me if I dared to gain a few pounds" Christian offered with an eye roll.

"And David, Aaron, Derek, Morgan, Spencer, Reid, Kevin, William, and Henry are also all out" Emily added as she took a deep breath. "I don't want to name him after a unsub either."

"Well then we have like no fucking names left" He whined before rubbing his eyes. "Well we have a middle name, that's a start. So what now boss?"

"We need to cut down on your 'fucks.'"

"WHAT?!" Christian yelled into the phone, not realizing what Emily meant. "What is this fucking nonsense you're saying?"

"No you idiot, I mean the amount of time you say 'fuck' in a day. I will not have my son's first word be 'fuck.' I can accept 'wicked' or even 'Sox' but not 'fuck.'"

Christian smirked at the statement, "I thought you were always up for appreciating a good fuck?"

Emily groaned at the remark. How was it possible that she was actually turned on from this? "I'm going to ignore that comment for now…"

"You're getting all hot and bothered aren't you?" He interjected with a smug look on his face.

"No!" She snapped before sighing, "Can we please not talk about anything physical until you're here? I swear, I thought all of the 'pregnancy makes your libido go crazy' stories were lies, especially because I would rather vomit than have sex with you for the first three months…"

"Hey!" He interjected in an offended voice.

"But now, now…" she trailed off before shaking the thoughts from her head, changing the subject before she seriously started considering phone sex, which could be a disaster considering how handy Penelope Garcia was with a wiretap. "When you get into town we should probably go house hunting, and other than that I don't know what we should have done by now" She admitted with a sigh as she glanced over to the baby book that was sitting on her dresser across the room. "The book is so far away and I finally got comfortable" She huffed as Christian just shook his head and laughed.

"Books are for people who can't work the fucking internet anyway. I got this Starsky" he informed her as he began searching online. "Sixteen and a half weeks right?"

"Yeah."

"This says to start planning nursery…"

"We'll table that for after house hunting" Emily interrupted as Christian continued on.

"Look into childcare options…"

Emily sighed, this was going to be a big decision. She had no plans to quit her job, nor did she want to. She had always assumed that she would go back to work as soon as her maternity leave ended, but what is Christian had other ideas? What if Christian expected her to stay home with the baby? What if he wanted her to transfer to another unit? Would he be unhappy with the idea of her traveling days at a time, leaving him home alone with a crying baby? What did he expect of her? "What are you thinking on that? I was leaning towards nanny."

"You want to go to work after your maternity leave right?" Christian asked as Emily chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

"Yeah."

"And I don't want him going to daycare right away with all those other fucking germy rando kids, so nanny sounds like a plan" Christian agreed, causing Emily to breath a sigh of relief of the other end of the phone. She was grateful that he didn't expect her to just give up work completely. She loved her job, it was part of how she defined herself. She couldn't imagine giving it up permanently, and Christian knew that. "This also says to join a baby birthing class. We have to take a fucking class for this? I thought you just went to the hospital and had the fucking baby. You have to learn this shit?"

"I don't know" Emily shrugged. "I'll talk to JJ. We have a middle name and we decided on hiring a nanny so I think we've done enough for now. We'll be able to do more when you actually make it down here."

"I'm working on it boss lady" Christian defended as Emily started laughing. "Where do we even hire a nanny from?"

"I'll ask an expert, my mother" Emily answered with grin as Christian started snickering.

"What's this?" Christian asked as he continued to search online. "6 disgusting facts about giving birth that you need to know…"

"Christian do not read that" Emily sternly ordered.

"But…"

"Nothing good ever comes from knowing things" Emily adamantly replied as she heard Christian become silent on the other end of the line. "Christian stop now…"

"Oh my fucking God…how is that...what is that…I-I…" He stuttered before trailing off.

Emily rolled her eyes and scoffed at the man, "I told you not to read that."

Christian cringed as he continued, against his better judgment, to read the webpage, "Baby, I am, I am so sorry for what I've done to you."

"DON'T TELL ME!"

"Okay, okay, I just, I-I really have to go" he gulped as he slammed his laptop shut.

"Ugh, you're the worst" Emily stated in a matter of fact tone with another eye roll, "Finish packing, I'll see you Tuesday morning."

"I will" he offered as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the images from flooding his mind. "I love you."

"Love you too, despite how much I hate you right now" Emily huffed as she hung up the phone and turned on her TV. "And now I really want to know what it said" she complained before getting up to order dinner.

* * *

"What are we having? What are we having? What are we having?" Garcia excitedly asked as she bounced up and down on her office chair, causing Emily and JJ to share a look, rolling their eyes at their insane friend.

"PG you texted me '911 emergency, huge fire, get down to my lair now' in all capital letters" Emily scolded as JJ tried to stifle a laugh.

"Well to be fair, you are pregnant so you shouldn't have come down here if there was a fire anyway. That's on you" JJ stated to the annoyed brunette. "Come on tell us."

Emily shook her head and couldn't help but smile before telling her friends, "Fine. I'm sorry Garcia but the BAU curse has struck again."

"Boy?" JJ asked as Emily nodded. "Oh my God that is amazing. Welcome to the boys club" the blonde warmly stated as she embraced her friend, before they both turned their attention to the disappointed technical analyst.

Garcia hung her head in defeat at the news, "How could you do this to me Gumdrop? When am I going to have a baby girl?"

"Maybe try having one yourself Pen" JJ offered with a shrug.

"With who? My bacon donut eating ex-boyfriend who is dating some heartless wench? Emily took the last good man left. Sinfully Delicious was mine first. You said you would rather shoot yourself in the face than have sex with him" Garcia reminded as JJ burst into a fit of laughter.

"From what I saw a few weeks ago that is not the case" the blonde profiler teased as Emily glared at her before giving Garcia a sympathetic look. She knew how hard it could be when all of your friends were paired off except you. JJ was married with a son, she was pregnant and engaged, and poor Garcia was all alone.

"Oh it's okay" Emily comforted as she pulled the typically excited woman into a hug. "I know he's going to love his crazy Aunt Penelope."

"I just wish there was something that could make me feel less empty, less alone" Garcia replied with a sign as she burrowed her head into the brunette's neck.

"I know" Emily coaxed as JJ felt a wave of guilt pass over her.

"I think if I felt a sense of responsibility to help someone, to guide someone through their life it might help. If I had that sense of purpose I might feel better" Garcia mumbled into Emily's hair as the brunette profiler stepped back to notice the smallest of smiles on her friend's face.

"I can't believe you!"

"Did she try to feel you up or something?" JJ asked as Emily rolled her eyes in reply. "What? Your boobs look amazing."

"Oh my God!" Emily exclaimed, blushing profusely as she face palmed. "No JJ, she is trying to steal Godmother from you."

JJ gasped as Garcia slightly cringed, displaying her guilt. "That's what all that garbage about being alone and guiding someone and sense of purpose crap was about?!"

"No" Garcia shot back in the most unconvincing tone ever as JJ put her hands on her hips.

"I can't believe you, how long have you been planning this?"

"This is probably why she broke up with Kevin all along" Emily cut in with a laugh.

"No, I'm heartbroken. I need this baby. JJ would be the most boring Godmother ever" Garcia argued to Emily in a matter of fact tone.

"Hey!"

"What?"

"I'm fun."

"I'm more fun" Garcia shot back as she motioned to her Hello Kitty dress, "Look at my dress."

"So because you dress like Japanese pop star you get to be Godmother?" Emily asked with a lopsided grin as she continued rubbing her baby bump, watching the show unfold in front of her.

"I consider that a compliment" Garcia shrugged before turning to glare at her blonde competition.

"You already have one Godson, you don't need another. Baby Prentanagh is mine!"

"Actually he's mine" Emily corrected with a raised finger before pointing to her small pregnant stomach, "And we're leaving. Sorry PG but you already have a Godson, JJ gets this one" Emily informed her friends as she left the room.

"This ain't over blondie" Garcia warned as JJ flipped her hair and left the office.

* * *

It was Monday afternoon and the team was busy with their various assignments. Hotch was in a meeting with Strauss, Garcia was doing God knows what, and the rest of the team was working on assorted paperwork.

Emily was working on a stack of consults at her desk, trying to convince herself that she didn't have to go to the bathroom yet again. The book she had been reading claimed that the constant need to pee would subside in the second trimester. The book lied. Maybe Christian was right, books are just for idiots who didn't know how to work the internet. Emily was shaken from her thoughts by the booming voice of Morgan.

"Yo Eminem's body double" he greeted as Emily looked up from her case files.

"Fuck you, Eminem wishes he has this body" Christian shot back with a grin. He was wearing a black Adidas track suit, the sleeves pushed up almost to his elbows with a white undershirt peaking through. Emily assumed it was that combined with the backwards green Red Sox baseball cap that prompted the nickname. She also noticed that Christian's hair was a little longer and it looked like he was starting to grow a beard, which she was oddly into.

"You weren't supposed to get here until tomorrow" She remarked in a surprised voice, getting up from her chair as he engulfed her in a tight hug, giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I really have to go to the bathroom" She confessed in a quiet voice as Christian laughed and pulled away as she briskly walked off.

"What up kid" Christian greeted to Reid who briefly looked up from his paperwork to give him a smile as Christian sat on Emily's desk.

"What's in the bag Cav?" Morgan asked as he pointed to a small blue bag Christian put on the brunette profiler's desk.

Christian was about to answer as Erin Strauss stomped out of Hotch's office after an argument about the possibility of Alex Blake joining the team in Emily's absence. "Look at this fucking character" Christian announced to Strauss with a nod.

"Christian Cavanagh?" The section chief asked in a surprised and almost gleeful tone that caught the attention of Hotch, Morgan, Reid, and Emily, who was just heading back to her desk.

"Erin go Bragh" Christian replied as Strauss _laughed?_

"Very clever."

"I'm fucking E equals M clever squared" he shot back with a grin as Reid got a confused look and leaned over to whisper to Morgan.

"That's not right."

"None of this is right" The older man responded to the perplexed genius.

Strauss nodded her head at Christian before glancing over to a shocked Emily, "Well is very good to see you. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"So don't I" he offered in happy voice as Emily was once against confused by his Boston-speak. Hell, she was confused by this entire goddamn interaction. "You watch that docu-fucking-mentary with your son?"

"I did" Strauss answered as Hotch felt his chest constricting. Was he having a panic attack? Was this an out-of-body experience? Did Christian really just greet Erin Strauss by saying, 'Look at this fucking character?'

"Was it wicked pissa or was it wicked pissa?" Christian asked knowingly.

"It was an outstanding film. Thank you for the suggestion. My son absolutely loved it" she offered in a polite voice. "Well I need to be going. It was great to see you and I wish the best for your Red Sox" she informed him, sounding almost disappointed that she had to leave. "Agents" the woman greeted in a professional tone as she nodded to Morgan, Reid, and Emily.

"Ma'am" the all simultaneously replied as she walked out the glass BAU doors.

"See, wicked delightful" Christian stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and grinned while Emily sat down in her office chair next to him.

"What documentary were you talking about? How did this all happen?" Emily asked as Christian lightly brushed his fingers against her baby bump. "No, first, when did this happen?"

Christian bit his lip as he thought back to when he first met Erin Strauss, "I guess like eight months ago. The movie I was telling her about was called 'Senna,' it's about a race car driver. You'd fucking hate it."

"Eight months ago and she still remembers what you said?" Morgan asked before shaking his head in confusion.

"Well we email" Christian nonchalantly added as Emily's gave him a questioning look with an eyebrow raised.

"You email Erin Strauss? As in my boss's boss Erin Strauss? What the hell do you even talk about?"

"I don't know, my thoughts on life, different current events, and sports" He began as he noticed Emily chuckle. "What? That's fucking funny to you? I'm like fucking Stephen Colbert, everyone wants to know my fucking commentary on the world."

Emily scoffed at the statement. "Oh most definitely. You should start a podcast. Through His Eyes: The Christian Cavanagh Story" she teased as her and Morgan broke into a fit of laughter.

"Fuck you" He playfully scolded. "Will you just shut up so I can answer your fucking question?" He incredulously asked as Emily and Morgan both nodded. "I was going to visit her royal fucking highness at the BAU" he began as he nodded over to Emily. "When I decided to hit up Dunkies and in the parking lot I see this broad with a stack of crap she's trying to throw in her trunk, but she has some sort of fucking incident because she looks over to me all drops all her shit. I pick it up for her because she's an older woman and what if she broke a hip trying to bend over or something? And the book I pick up fucking disgusted me. I swear I haven't felt so betrayed since The Globe published pictures of Tom fucking Brady wearing a New York Stankees cap."

"Wait, what was Strauss reading that disgusted you?" Morgan asked, cringing slightly as if he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Prepare your-fucking-selves" Christian instructed as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Go on" she ordered with her arms crossed across her chest. "What was the book?"

"The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest fucking Prickingway" He answered with a look of pure hatred on his face.

"Wait a second here" Emily cut him off as she raised her hand to stop any interruptions, "The book that 'disgusted' you was The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway? Who you also apparently hate."

"He's pretentious as fuck. Who gives a shit about some bastard catching a fish?"

Emily raised her hands in frustration and sighed, "First of all, the entire book is a parable for life. It's not just about a fish, it's about life, honor, combating forces, man's place in nature, and death. The entire book is symbolic dumbass. Second, He's one of the greatest American writers of all time. You just don't like him because the main character in The Old Man and the Sea idolizes Joe DiMaggio" she challenged with a pointed look.

"If you want to write about a baseball hero you always pick Teddy fucking Ballgame!" Christian exclaimed as Morgan and Emily started laughing. "And William Faulkner is the greatest American author of all time, and Dashiell Hammett for mystery. You know what, I like that name."

"Dashiell?"

"Yeah, what do you think?"

"Maybe" Emily shrugged as Morgan started to get annoyed.

"Are you going to tell us about Strauss or not?"

"Whoa D-Mo money mo problems cool your jets. So Erin had _that_ book and I said it was shit and she agreed and told me her son was reading it. I tell her that's why kids fucking hate school. She laughed, as usual, and then I said I had to get going so I could watch the Holy War…"

"What?" Reid asked, his interest piqued with the possibility of a history conversation.

"Yeah, you know when BC plays Notre Dame. I have to admit my fucking heart hurts during these games."

Morgan rolled his eyes at the dramatic statement, "Why?"

"My grandfather was a Triple Eagle, I went to a lot of BC games as a kid but I bleed fucking Irish green."

"Triple Eagle?" Emily asked with an eyebrow raised.

Christian rubbed his face in frustration, "I swear you all need to learn sone Boston talk because your fucking ignorance is killing me. When you go to fucking Boston College High School, Boston College, and Boston College Law School you are a Triple Eagle. Okay? You got it so I can finish my fucking story before I'm fucking dead?" He complained before finally finishing. "After that experience I go to the BAU trying to meet up with Starsky and who do I see but that Dunkies broad walking into the FBI building. I was fucking shocked. We talked some more and it turned out she was your boss. I wasn't that surprised since I saw Drew fucking Bledsoe eating a whoopie pie at the fucking Commons."

"What did he just say?" Morgan asked with a laugh as Emily just shook her head in response.

"Let me get this straight, you insulted one of the most revered pieces of literature of all time and now she likes you?" Emily asked with a confused look on her face as Reid was still attempting to piece everything together.

Christian just shrugged in response, "I'm wicked charming kid. When are you going to see that?"

"Okay, so that whole situation aside" Emily began again as she pointed to the bag on her desk. "What is that?" Christian gave her a small smile and slid the bag over to her, with Emily reaching inside to take out a baby blue Yale onesie. "Yale? Oh my God Christian, where did you get this?"

"I keep trying to tell you, I can work the fucking internet" Christian grinned as Emily smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"You smell good" she mumbled with a sigh as her hands drifted to the nape of his neck, massaging his hair as her breathing began to quicken. "You need to go" she sternly told him as she jerked her body away from his, awkwardly pushing him away.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion as he noticed her slightly blush. "Okay then" he remarked, trying to stifle a laugh as he walked away.

"What was that about?" Morgan asked with a knowing grin as Reid stared at Emily, even more confused than before. This was a weird day.

"None of your business" Emily snapped as she started working on a new case file, thanking God that Garcia was nowhere to be found during the interaction. Morgan was bad enough without adding in Garcia's pervy Robin to his Batman. Why couldn't she have any normal friends? Not even JJ was what one could consider 'normal,' she just hid it better than everyone else. And that is when it hit her. Was she just as crazy as the rest of them? Christian definitely was. "My poor son."

**Christian's tattoos were always part of telling this story so the gender was decided all along. I hope no one is too disappointed. **

******Typically if I get a lot of requests I'll try to work with them, but this time it contrasted with what I had been planning. I'm sorry, but I still think you are all the best.**

******I hope the longer chapter made up for it. **


	37. Meeting The Ambassador

**I know some of you are disappointed that Emily and Christian are having a boy, and I'm sorry about that but it was done for a few specific reasons, which I will gladly explain so no one thinks I was just trying to fuck with them. **

**1. There are many parallels drawn between the relationship between Emily/Christian and his parent's story, and having a boy was a continuation of that. The middle name Diarmuid and the Irish Mythology behind it, the tattoos, even the name 'Juliet' were all a part of the story's central theme of seconds chances and the ****connections we see in between the p****ast and present in our lives. **

**2. ****Emily and Christian are nervous enough about being parents and they would be put more at ease with a boy, which give them some time to realize that they can do the whole parenting thing.**

**3. Finally, t****he gender really serves as a catalyst for an important upcoming conversation that has to do with coming to terms with the past. **

**However, just because I went with a boy _this _time doesn't mean that there won't be a girl for them in the future (hint hint.) I like to keep my readers happy. **

**Thanks to everyone for sticking with the story and for your reviews. **

It was around midnight and Christian was sleeping in his small corner of the bed while Emily took over the entire area, a mountain of pillows separating their bodies. There was nothing that Christian and Sergio had grown to hate more than the dreaded body pillow the brunette slept with at night.

It was a calm night until Emily felt a strange stirring in her abdomen as she started to fall asleep. After a few minutes of trying to ignore it, Emily opted to inform Christian, which was the worst decision she had ever made. "Christian" she nudged him as she tried to reach over the pillows, using her other hand to rub small circles over her baby bump. "Christian wake up" she ordered a little more firmly as he started stirring. "Christian, I think something's wrong with the baby" she added in a slightly worried voice, lightly slapping him on the back.

Christian's entire body jerked at the contact, completely terrified, "What? What is it?"

"I don't know, seomthing doesn't feel right."

"Okay, okay, just stay here" Christian ordered, his hands instructing her to stay put as he jumped out of the bed, almost falling over as he did so. "I will fix this" He reassured her as he ran to the kitchen to grab his phone off the charger. Emily assumed that he was calling her OBGYN like a normal person would have, but when it came to Emily, Christian became panicky. As a result, the typical Cavanagh ambivalence went out the window and Christian went into full panic mode, calling the one person he shouldn't have.

"Hello my sinfully delicious" Garcia greeted in a joyful tone.

"Something is wrong with Emily! What do I do?!" Christian yelled in a panicked tone as Emily overheard him and face palmed in the other room.

"OH MY GOD!"

"I need help!"

"Okay, okay, okay Garcie we can do this. Okay get some towels, some ice and boil a kettle of water."

"What? Why?" Christian asked as he tried taking a few deep breaths.

"That's what they always do in the movies duh" Garcia replied. "Wait, what are her symptoms."

"I don't know" Christian admitted as he ran back into the bedroom. "Emily what are your symptoms?"

"I just feel this fluttering in my stomach" Emily replied with a shrug, obviously not as worried as her younger partner.

"Fluttering in her stomach, what does this mean?"

"Oh my God this is worse than I thought. Hold on baby doll Aunty PenPen will fix this" Garcia assured Christian as she put him on hold and called someone else. "Hold on hot stuff" Garcia instructed as she changed phone lines to talk to Morgan. "Emily's dying!"

"WHAT?!" Morgan exclaimed as he shot up in bed after his latest conquest, the redheaded woman giving him a dirty look. _Redhead? I could have sworn she was a blonde _Morgan internally noted before going back into 'Emily's In Trouble' crisis mode.

"Something is wrong with the baby and we don't know what to do."

"Hold up baby girl, whose we?"

"Me and S.D."

"S.D.?"

"Sinfully Delicious duh, we don't have time for this Derek. Emily says she feels this intense fluttering in her abdomen and Christian has no hot water boiled! I swear that boy is a mess."

Morgan took a deep breath as he tried to process everything. Maybe the technical analyst shouldn't have led with 'Emily's dying.' "Okay I'll call Reid."

"Good God hurry up Derek, we don't have all night" Garcia insisted as the man nodded from the other end of the line before calling up Reid.

Meanwhile, Christian was pacing around the bedroom, biting his fingernails much like Emily used to. "Christian you need to relax" Emily gently ordered with a small smile. "What did Dr. Bennis say?"

"I don't know, I called Garcia" Christian confessed as Emily rolled her eyes.

"You called Garcia?"

"But I think she called Morgan" he defended as Emily scoffed.

"Just because Derek Morgan is very well acquainted with the female anatomy does not make him a doctor."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Christian offered in a panicked voice as his phone rang. "Hello, are you sure? Okay, okay, no I didn't boil any fucking water. Because this is isn't Call the fucking Midwife. No, I don't watch that show. Fine, yes it was really good. Okay, bye Oracle" Christian concluded with a deep breath as he hung up the phone before addressing Emily. "Reid said it's just the baby moving."

"He's moving?"

"He's moving" Christian confirmed as he walked over to Emily, leaning over as he kissed her forehead, cupping her cheek. "You're okay."

"You were such a mess" Emily began to tease until realizing why he had freaked out. It was because it had involved her. Those were the only times when he really lost it. "Everything is okay" Emily sighed as he gently rubbed his chest tattoo before she moved the body pillow to the foot of the bed and patted the space beside her, signally for him to lie down next to her. "We're okay."

Christian merely nodded as he inhaled sharply, closing his eyes while Emily ran her fingers up and down his forearm in a comforting manner. Emily knew that after the abduction Christian had been struggling. During the weeks when he was alone in Lafayette Emily knew that Christian wasn't sleeping. She thought it was probably because he was afraid to be alone because of what happened the last time he was. Then there was also the issue of him refusing to take his pain medication, which was likely because he was worried he'd use again. But Emily was sure he had gotten past all of that. Yes there had been the occasional nightmare, but Emily still got those too. They were just some emotional scars that never faded. But this was different. There was something else that was bothering him, and Emily was determined to find out, but that night wasn't the right time.

* * *

"How goes the great house hunt?" JJ asked Emily, who was just returning to the office from her 20th week scan, which Christian had finally attended with her.

"We finally settled on the house in Georgetown's East Village. The sellers were desperate so they accepted our bid. Thank god for divorce…"

"You're horrible" the blonde interrupted with a laugh.

The brunette profiler just shrugged at the remark, "Christian starts work in a few days so thankfully the stupid 'unemployment beard' is being shaved today. Tonight we have dinner with my mother, oh and we had a bit of freak out last night" Emily admitted with a laugh.

"What happened?"

"I was starting to fall asleep and I felt this twitching in my stomach and I didn't realize it was just the baby moving" Emily confessed as JJ started laughing. "So I told Christian, who starts freaking out and he calls Garcia…"

JJ shook her head in disbelief, "He called Pen and not me?"

"Evidently they are very close" She chuckled. "So she starts panicking too and finally Morgan calls Reid who tells us that it's just the baby moving. Apparently babies are more active at night. When did..."

"Wait" JJ interrupted before raising her hand to stop Emily from going on. "You told Christian, who told Garcia, who called Morgan, who called Reid and no one called me. No one thought to call the one person in our unit who had actually been pregnant before. That'd be like calling Rossi last when you're going through a divorce."

"Sorry Jayje" Emily replied to appease the blonde. "So when did you start feeling Henry move?"

"Like seventeen weeks" JJ answered as the two started walking back towards the glass BAU doors.

"According to my doctor baby Cavanagh is lazy."

"That will come in handy when he starts playing soccer with your internal organs" JJ laughed as Emily gave her a pointed look. "But it's not that bad" she tried to cover as Emily rolled her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, although I have been getting these leg cramps at night so I often kick Christian" Emily stated with a smirk.

"You're mean."

"Well sometimes he deserves it" Emily laughed as JJ couldn't help but nod in agreement.

JJ opened the door for Emily as the two women walked into the BAU, "Which birthing class have you signed up for?"

"Well…"

"You haven't done it yet!" JJ exclaimed, completely exasperated by the lack of preparedness by her friend. "Emily those classes fill up fast. God you two need to stop having sex all the time and prepare for your baby, or the poor boy is going to be stuck wearing a cut out pillow case onesie and sleeping in a cardboard box. You're rich, you have no excuse for this" the blonde scolded as her brunette raised her hands in surrender.

"To be fair we did go baby shopping" Emily argued as JJ rolled her eyes.

"And then you were thrown out…"

"That's not true" the other female profiler interjected. "We merely left after feeling uncomfortable."

JJ scoffed at the argument because she knew that wasn't the entire story. "You and Christian offended most of the staff and a bunch of pregnant women, left, and then you went home and had sex, which is just so typical of pregnant Emily Prentiss."

* * *

_The Day Before_

_Christian and Emily were browsing through a Washington D.C. baby store, under strict instructions from JJ to start picking out baby furniture. The couple had been putting the assignment off for a while, both for different reasons. Emily was putting it off because Christian was living out of boxes and as a result her typically spacious apartment felt cramped and chaotic. She definitely didnt want to add anything else to the clutter. On the other hand, Christian didn't want to have to move any more boxes than he already had to, and he definitely didn't want to move some things twice. He knew the whole moving responsibility fell on him, but it wasn't like he could complain when Emily was carrying his baby, and had saved his life. He felt like he kind of owed her. __Regardless of why the couple was procrastinating, they still were, which annoyed the blonde future Godmother to no end._

_Christian sighed as he adjusted his black Bruins baseball cap while Emily debated between two different sets of baby bedding. "If we made the Oracle the Godmother she'd do all of this stuff for us. Not to mention I'm missing the pre-game show for the Sox game. Tom Brady was supposed to be a guest. Tom Brady!" He complained as he itched at the collar on his plain blue t-shirt._

_Emily scoffed at the man's complaints as she bit her bottom lip, completely torn between cars and ducks, "Quit being so lazy, I'm the one actually cooking a baby here. What are you accomplishing?"_

_"I'm helping" he shrugged with a grin as Emily rolled her eyes while a woman in her early twenties approached them. She was dressed in a new-age free spirit sort of way with faux leather sandals __and a long braid. She wasn't the sort of character that Emily would imagine working at a national chain retail store._

_"Good afternoon, my name is Raine with an 'E'" she introduced in serene voice before adding, "C__an I help you?" _

_Emily shared a look with Christian and nodded. The time had come for them to get professional help. "Can we just buy a baby room? Like are there any pre-done baby rooms?" He asked as the salesperson got a baffled look on her face. _

_"Well you could, but I would not recommend it."_

_"Why not?" Emily and Christian both asked simultaneously. _

_"Because the first room of a child should really depend on what __aura you are trying to achieve. What are your dreams for your child? Where on the yin and yang spectrum does your baby fall? How do you want him or her to sleep? These are the sort of questions that a showroom cannot answer for you, only your heart can when you connect with the unborn."_

_Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes, "Are you going to be able to help us with this?"_

_"Yes" Raine confidently stated as she glanced over to Christian. "What qualities are you looking for in a bedroom?" _

_"It's a friggin' bedroom so I would say sleep" Christian replied with an eye roll as Emily tried to stifle a laugh beside him. _

_The saleswoman glared at Christian before speaking up, obviously not appreciating his trademark Cavanagh snark. "I hope you don't plan on cursing around your child like that."_

_"This is my version of not cursing"_

_Emily chuckled as she raised a finger, "This is true."_

_A horrified look made its way on the Raine's face as she motioned for the couple to follow her as she guided them towards the organic bedding section of the store. Organic bedding, which Christian thought was the most bizarre thing he had ever heard while Emily preferred the designs of the bedding she had looked at before this strange woman offered her unique version of 'help.'_

_"This blows" Christian whispered into Emily's ear, prompting her to quietly giggle as the saleswoman turned around to face them, scowling at the remark that she overheard. _

_"Excuse me?" _

_"So Raine, that's a unique name. Where does that name originate from?" Emily politely asked, trying to alleviate some of tension. _

_"Well" Raine began as she stopped in the middle of the store near a group of pregnant women. "It's not my birth name but my inner name. And one day when I looked out at the rain I knew it had been my name all along. I was just searching for it."_

_"And were you searching for the 'E' too?" Christian asked as he tried to stifle a fit of laughter that threatened to escape. _

_"Christian!" Emily scolded as Raine glared at him._

_"I pity those who are so close-minded to nature around us."_

_"You pity me?" Christian asked incredulously with a laugh. "Yeah, it's a real shame that I don't act like a fucking __Dazed and Confused extra" he __sarcastically commented. _

_Raine gasped at the statement, "All of your negative energy is compromising my inner zen. For the sake of your unborn child I would suggest that you open your mind to the world and nature."_

_What?" Christian scoffed as he shook his head and went into what Emily called 'full asshole' mode. "You work at fucking Pottery Barn, who died and made you the Sigmund fucking Freud of child __psychology?"_

_"Language, this is a children's store" Raine chided as the group of pregnant women gave him, and Emily, a dirty look, making the man nervous. Christian didn't care about offending anyone, except for pregnant women. That was where he drew the line. _

_"Oh is that…that must be my phone" Christian awkwardly lied as he took out his cellphone, bringing the wrong end up to his mouth. "Oh yeah, okay cancel the merger…" he drifted off as Emily started laughing before they both__ wordlessly left the store. __"What the fuck was that?" Christian sighed as they made it into the courtyard of the shopping center._

_Emily couldn't stop laughing at the incident, "Oh my God, 'cancel the merger?' You're a police officer, why didn't you just make up a murder or __something?"_

_"I panicked in the face of a fucking stampede of pregnant ladies" he defended with a groan. "And don't say murder around the baby" he ordered as Emily rolled her eyes. "So what do we do now? I think we're banned until 'monsoon' takes her communion with nature break."_

_Emily bit her bottom lip, trying to decide between staying for ice cream or heading home. Home and the lure of something else won out, "Wanna go home and have sex?"_

_"Fuck yeah" Christian smirked. "See what I did there" he winked as Emily rolled her eyes as they headed towards the parking lot. _

* * *

Emily nervously picked her nails as she sat at the empty table in the crowded upscale D.C. French restaurant her mother had chosen. Her mother had called her to let her know that she was running late after a long meeting and Christian was also running late, as usual. After taking another sip of water, Emily answered her vibrating cell phone at the table, earning a dirty look for a few of the older patrons.

"Prentiss" she answered, not bothering to check the caller I.D.

"What am I supposed to where to this thing?" Christian asked as he sat on their bed in his underwear.

Emily shook her head in disbelief, "You're not even dressed yet?"

"I got busy."

"Doing what?"

"Packing up the house. You see this wouldn't be a problem if you were more like me and had less crap. So just tell me what to wear to the last fucking supper and I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Dress nice" Emily instructed as Christian rolled his eyes.

"Dress nice? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I always dress nice."

"You dress like a twelve-year-old, dress like an adult man. Dress like Hotch or Rossi or even Reid and hurry up" she ordered in a stern tone as she hung up the phone. "Why can't daddy ever be on time, huh? Please don't make me wait like him" Emily almost pleaded with her unborn child, hoping that he wouldn't inherit his father's tendency to always be late. Being pregnant for almost ten months was more than enough time for her.

About fifteen minutes later Elizabeth Prentiss walked into the restaurant to find Emily sitting at the table alone, eating a piece of bread. "Emily dear let me see you" the elder Prentiss ordered as Emily reluctantly rose from the table, the loose-fitting black dress with a contrasting white-collar she had worn to work concealing most of her baby bump. "You look very well. As you know, many women lose all sense of self-control while pregnant" she informed Emily, who struggled to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Where is the father? Is he still involved?"

"Yes mother, he's just running late" Emily shrugged as she went back to eating her bread.

"I see" Elizabeth Prentiss coldly remarked. This was going to be an interesting evening.

"You were late mother" Emily reminded her with a small grin. "He's been busy packing up the house and just got distracted. He'll be here soon."

"Is he unemployed?"

Emily scoffed at the question, "No mother he has a job. He just moved from Louisiana and doesn't start-up for a few more days."

"He's from Louisiana then?" The Ambassador asked as she unfolded her napkin, eloquently placing it on her lap as she ordered a glass of wine from a roving waiter.

"No he's from Boston…"

"Outstanding" Elizabeth interjected. "I quite like Boston. It truly is a wonderful city." Internally Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. The mother and daughter's conversation was briefly interrupted by a member of the staff bringing a large box to the table. "It's a baby gift" Elizabeth informed Emily with a small smile as Christian walked up the table. Surprisingly he was actually dressed appropriately, wearing a grey suit with thin white pinstripes, a white Oxford shirt, a grey tie, and a pair of black Oxford shoes.

Christian quickly kissed the top of Emily's head and stretched his hand to the Ambassador. "You must be Ambassador Prentiss" he politely greeted with a smile that illuminated his eyes.

"Please, call me Elizabeth. You must be Christopher…"

"Christian, but close. You got the 'Christ' part right" he winked as he sat down next to Emily. "Sorry I'm late, D.C. drivers are wicked insane" he added. "I swear 99.9% of them are drinking fucking roadies" Christian complained as Emily cringed. It had been eleven seconds, eleven seconds into the dinner and he had already dropped the F-bomb. But in the typical politician manner, Elizabeth Prentiss seemed unfazed by it.

"A roadie?" Elizabeth questioned in a confused voice.

"You know a beer for the road, like when you're fucking drinking and driving and getting a buzz on before you hit the bar. It's a Boston thing I guess" he shrugged. "But to be clear, I do not drink and drive. However, that is how a lot of my buddies on the force made their ticket quotas."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Elizabeth commented, unsure of how to respond to the remark as the trio ordered dinner. "You can speak French?" she asked in a surprised voice as Christian grinned.

"In a perfect Boston accent" he quipped as, to Emily's shock, Elizabeth almost laughed.

"Would you mind me asking how old you are?"

"Thirty and a half" Christian responded as Emily wanted to smack him. Why did he have to add 'and a half?' It just made him sound like he was ten years old. "But I'm ahead of the curve" he smugly stated with a smirk.

"Emily tells me your some sort of detective."

"Actually mother he's a Lieutenant in the Criminal Intelligence division" Emily filled in as Christian nodded.

"It's not all that interesting. As you might have guessed criminals are not all that intelligent" he deadpanned as Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "Emily says you're a career politician."

Elizabeth Prentiss brightened up at the mention of politics, "Yes, are you interested in politics?"

"Mostly vintage politics, I tell you a bag of fucking grass clippings could run Congress better than the skeezes we have now. You know who I miss? Fucking Tip O'Neil."

"He was an exceptional politician" Elizabeth agreed with a nod as Emily watched the interaction intently. Was this going well? "I had the privilege of working with him on a piece of foreign policy legislature."

"WHAT?! That is wicked pissa. Okay top eight politicians of all time, obviously JFK…"

"Robert Kennedy" The Ambassador added as Christian nodded enthusiastically.

"Fuck Bobby Kennedy was like my brother. Then you got Teddy Kennedy, Joe Kennedy, John 'Honey Fitz' Fitzgerald, Edward Everett, Tip O'Neil, John Kerry, Deval Patrick, Michael Bloomberg, Sargent fucking Shriver, is that eight? I could keep going."

"Please don't" Emily cut in as Elizabeth and Christian both glared at her.

"It would fair to infer that you are from Boston" Elizabeth said as she turned her attention back to the man.

"Most definitely, Boston born and bred."

"And where did you grow up?"

Emily stilled Christian's bouncing knee under the table before he answered, "Back Bay and the South End."

"That is very interesting, two very different subcultures. And what did you parents do?"

"My father was a groundskeeper and my mother ran a charitable foundation" He answered as Elizabeth nodded and decided not to press on, leaving Emily wondering how much her mother must have known about her partner's past. But then again, what didn't Elizabeth Prentiss know? She would give Penelope Garcia a run for her money in the all-knowing department.

The rest of the evening was uneventful and, for the most part, pleasant. But that didn't mean that the Ambassador liked Christian, it just meant that she was being civil, per usual. After the table was cleared, Elizabeth took out another gift from her purse, a book of baby names as Christian pulled something from the breast pocket of his jacket.

"I brought you the latest picture of your grandson" he warmly offered as he handed the sonogram over to Elizabeth, whose expression immediately softened. It was odd to see her mother so warm and it made Emily think that maybe her mother actually looked forward to being a grandmother after all.

"Thank you" Elizabeth replied a few moments later, glancing at Christian before offering her daughter a small smile. "Well it was a pleasure meeting you Christian and I hope I get the chance to see you again before my grandson arrives" Elizabeth concluded as she rose from the table. "Emily, why don't you forgo the valet. I'll have my driver take you to your car."

"Well I guess that's signal for me to get out here. Thank you Elizabeth for the lovely dinner and the gift" Christian remarked with his trademark Cavanagh grin as he shook his future mother-in-law's hand and took the book and large box from Emily, "See you at home kid."

"Okay" Emily responded as he leaned down to give her a quick peck on the lips before leaving.

Emily and her mother walked silently out of the busy restaurant until they reached the parking lot, waiting for the elder Prentiss' driver. "So what did you think of him?"

Elizabeth corrected her posture before speaking up in a professional tone, "He is not what I would have envisioned for you…"


	38. You Don't Need to Marry Him

**Thanks for all the reviews. You all are the best! (And you truly deserve that exclamation point.)**

Emily always knew it was going to be a risk to introduce Christian to her mother. Sure Strauss had liked him, but that was largely because she had a little crush on him. Reid had pointed out that her pupils slightly dilated when she saw Christian, the body's way of signaling sexual attraction. And in many ways that was expected, because even though Emily would never admit it to him, Christian was very attractive. However, Elizabeth Prentiss was not so indiscriminate when it came to her only child's romantic partners, even more so now that there was a child involved. Considering his personality, Emily thought that, perhaps, this sort of reaction should have been expected.

Christian wasn't exactly the easiest person to figure out. He was often brash, abrasive, brutally honest, and somehow oddly charming. He could be exceptionally cruel and cold, but also had the ability to be tactful and considerate, even gentle. He used terms like 'wicked' and 'fuck,' which coupled with the Boston accent may have given him the appearance of being unintelligent or ignorant. But he wasn't. He could discuss the themes and nuances of Faulkner, Joyce, and Keats as well as he could talk about any Red Sox games. He was smart, he had depth, but he liked to disguise his intelligence. He liked the advantage it gave him.

And then there was his history with women. The fact of the matter was that for most of his life he had slept around, not looking for any sense of commitment. However, on his own terms, when he was ready, he was able to remain faithful to her even when they were separated for months at a time. Additionally, he didn't act like monogamy was some huge sacrifice or even feel the need to discuss it with her, it was just what he had expected of himself.

Christian Cavanagh was just about the most complex man Emily had ever met, which is why Emily had never brought a man like him home before. Because, simply put, there was just no one else like him.

Emily and her mother walked silently out of the busy restaurant until they reached the parking lot, waiting for the elder Prentiss' driver. "So what did you think of him?"

Elizabeth corrected her posture before speaking up, "He is not what I would have envisioned for you."

Emily couldn't help but scoff at the statement, "Maybe that's why I love him."

"Emily" the Ambassador warned as the diplomat's obligatory black Mercedes-Benz pulled up, the two brunettes entering it as soon at the driver opened the door. "I did not mean my comment to come off as insulting. I think he's a very pleasant man considering…"

"Considering?"

"There is a lot of history to take into account in regard to his family" Elizabeth filled in cryptically before opting to clarify further as they headed towards where Emily's car was parked. "I do not believe in regrets. I believe regrets are a way for individuals to make excuses for their poor choices in life" she began as Emily couldn't help but roll her eyes at her mother's asinine statement. _God forbid if Elizabeth Prentiss ever admitted to having made a mistake. What would the world come to?_

The elder Prentiss woman cleared her throat before she spoke again, "I have never been involved with a man like this Christian Cavanagh. That being said, I have also never been in what one could consider a happy relationship."

Emily couldn't help but feel sorry for her mother in that moment. Because her mother was right, she had never had a happy marriage with her father. And Emily didn't know of any other men her mother had been involved with, which meant that they probably didn't make her happy either. "I'm sorry mother."

"I don't have regrets" Elizabeth reminded her. "But you are happy with this man?"

"I am."

"Are you considering marrying him?"

"Yes" Emily answered as she leaned her head against the car window.

And that is when Elizabeth Prentiss said something that surprised even Emily. "You don't need to marry him if you don't want to."

To many outsiders the comment would have seemed cold, cruel, disapproving, but to Emily it meant something else entirely. Elizabeth Prentiss had grown up in another generation. In another world where a young woman met an appropriate monied man who her parents approved of, a man who asked for her hand in marriage with a large expensive engagement ring or family heirloom. After a suitable engagement period, the dignifiedyoung woman would marry her acceptable spouse in a lavish ceremony before having a child with him _only_ after a sufficient amount of time to give the impression that the couple had never had sex before marriage. And that is the world that Elizabeth Prentiss grew up in, and even though society was much different now, it is the world that she still lived in.

Because even though it was the twenty-first century it was still a big deal for the only daughter of a powerful diplomat to have a child out-of-wedlock, with a man that she had no intention of marrying no less. It was looked down upon, considered 'classless' or 'trashy' in some social circles, circles her mother had belonged to for decades. Therefore, to hear that her mother didn't expect her to marry Christian was not a dig by any means, but rather meant that she didn't want to pressure her daughter into anything. For the first time in Emily's life, her mother was putting Emily's happiness above her reputation.

"I know mom" Emily replied after a few brief moment of silence. "I want to marry him" she simply stated before laughing. "He's insane. I'll admit that. God, he's certifiable and ridiculous, and if someone would have told me when I first met him that I would be here now I would think that person needed professional help. I don't even know how to explain it, but he does make me happy."

Elizabeth gave her daughter the smallest of smiles before cutting into the silence that filled that car once again. "I am very happy for you Emily. I always wanted what was best for you."

"I know."

"And I'm thrilled by the prospect of becoming a grandmother, although I am not quite sure if I enjoy the title of 'grandmother.'"

"What you want him to call you Ambassador?" Emily laughed as her mother gave her a warning look. "I think you'll have to make peace with being called grandma."

"I suppose" Elizabeth relented. "I expect you will have a very handsome son. Christian reminds me of a young Robert Redford in Barefoot in the Park, only with a more preferable nose."

Emily shook her head at the description. If he heard about this she'd never hear the end of it, "Please do not tell him that."

Her mother gave her a questioning look before changing the subject, "How is your wedding coming along?"

Emily took a deep breath and chuckled, "To be honest there are no plans yet. I don't know when we'll end up doing it. Everything feels fast and I'm not sure if I'm ready for it right now anyway. We're living together and now there's a baby involved and I don't know if I'm ready to be anyone's wife at the moment…" Emily drifted off, realizing that she practically admitted to her mother that she had gotten pregnant by accident _again. _However, she was shocked to not see any judgment in her mothers' eyes. Probably because to some degree her mother already knew none of this was planned. But when does life ever go according to plan? "Maybe after the baby comes we'll just go down to the courthouse."

"Nonsense" Elizabeth interjected. "You are my only child and I plan on giving you a proper wedding."

"So I'll have my child present at my wedding? What will all of your friends think of this?" Emily asked with a grin.

"We'll do it after you give birth. We won't register for gifts, merely suggest charitable contributions to a foundation of your choice and I will only invite my most liberal of acquaintances" the Ambassador informed Emily, who just rolled her eyes again, thinking her mother was the most ridiculous person on the planet. "Not to mention the fact that your future husband is very charming. He'll win them over."

"Wait a second here, you thought Christian was charming?" Emily asked with a perplexed look.

"He is rather Kennedy-esque" her mother admitted as a dumbfounded Emily opened the car door.

"Mom I thought you hated him."

"Why would you think something like that? Your pregnancy must be negatively effectively your cognitive skills, which worries me. Perhaps you should take some time off from work considering the lives at stake."

"Thanks" Emily replied as she dumbly waved back to her mother before getting into her own car. "Your daddy gets away with everything just because he's 'conventionally' attractive. He is so not charming" she adamantly said to her unborn child before starting the car to head home.

* * *

"I'm home" Emily announced as she walked into the apartment, kicking off her shoes and leaving dropping her purse on a few packed boxes in the living room before walking into the bedroom to hear the shower running from the master bathroom. "You didn't shower before dinner?" Emily yelled as changed out of her dress into one of Christian's faded red Patriots t-shirts and a pair of silk navy blue boxers, approaching the bathroom door.

"I was running late" he defended as Emily walked into the steamy room, washing her face and brushing her teeth.

"Well, I don't know what you slipped into the Ambassador's drink, but she actually called you 'Kennedy-esque.'"

"She sounds like a wicked smart lady" Christian smugly stated as Emily walked back into the bedroom, hearing the shower shut off behind her.

Emily rolled her eyes at his confidence as she turned down the air conditioning again. She hated that her entire body was hot except for her feet, which for some inexplicable reason were always cold.

"I am so glad you're from Boston" Emily remarked to him as he walked out of the bathroom wearing a pair of patterned grey knit boxers and a plain white undershirt.

"Why is that?" He absent-mindedly asked he put his watch on the dresser and plugged his phone in to charge before turning around to face her.

"Because you're always hot."

"Are you finally admitting what an attractive motherfucker I am?" He asked with a cocky smirk.

"I meant temperature idiot."

"Oh you mean my thick blood? It is a gift and a curse, mainly a curse because it was muggie as fuck today" he complained. "I'm thinking about buzzing off the hair. So your mother liked me didn't she? Did I call it or did I fucking call it?"

"Ugh, fine she kind of liked you" she admitted with a groan as she sat down on the bed, lotioning her legs. "I don't get how you do that. You're such an asshole, how does everyone like you?"

Christian laughed at the inquiry. "Well that's not entirely true, some people do hate me. But if someone doesn't like me that's there fucking problem because they're pricks with no taste" He smiled as Emily laughed.

"But you're not out of the woods yet Goldilocks, my mother is still my mother."

"And what is that supposed to mean Blofled?"

"Blofled?"

"The evil genius Bond villain" he filled her in as she started laughing.

"I'm a Bond villain now? What is that supposed to make you? Bond?"

"Fuck yeah" he answered in a confident voice with a smirk.

Emily scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "In this relationship I'm totally Bond. I'm the one with the international spy cred. You can be my Miss Moneypenny."

"WHAT?!" He yelled as she burst into a fit of laughter. "I don't want to be Miss Moneypenny."

"Fine, you can be Pussy Galore" she choked out over a laugh as he scowled at her. "Sorry baby, but you cannot change fate. Anyway you'll find out about what I mean about my mother eventually" Emily replied with an evil grin before her expression became more serious, "Hey, you know what? You never talk about her, your own mother."

Christian scratched his jaw line and sighed, "What is there to talk about?"

"Well what are you going to tell our son about her?"

"I don't know. Why does it matter?"

"It matters" Emily replied back as she bit her bottom lip. "He's going to ask one day. To be honest I'm curious about her myself. I really don't know much about her, about what she was like."

"I already told you like a fucking year ago."

"Christian…why didn't you want to name the baby after her?"

"Because he's a fucking boy" he snapped before massaging his temples, avoiding eye contact with the raven haired woman.

Emily ran her hands through her hair and spoke up in a gentle tone, "We didn't know the gender when I suggested it. I feel like your hiding something from me…"

"Oh you would know all about that wouldn't you?" He theoretically asked in a harsh tone.

"Christian this whole 'we talk about our feelings' goes both ways…"

"Like you did?" He sarcastically asked with an eye roll. "Fuck, quit being such a hypocrite" Christian bitterly accused, his temper getting the better of him. "You are fucking fine with privacy when it's good for you. When it's you're business it's fucking A-okay to keep secrets. Are you forgetting that you broke up with me because you didn't want to talk about shit and now what? Now you're fucking all open with all that pysco-babble bullshit?!"

"Christian…"

Christian shook his head before interrupting her, "The only reason I am even here right now is because you got pregnant. If you hadn't gotten pregnant we both know you would have never fucking called me again. We both know you would have just walked the fuck away because that is what you do. So do not fucking start with me about opening up to you about something that does not involve you" he ranted as he shook his head before preparing to walk off.

"Christian" Emily sighed as she got up off the bed to face him. His reaction to her simple request showed her that there was obviously a deeper issue involved. "What is going on with you? I said I was sorry about everything. I thought we were trying to get past of this. You can't just throw that in my face to get out of talking to me. Why didn't you want to even consider the name?" She asked in a calm voice as she lightly brushed her fingers against his collarbone. "You need to talk to me."

"It's none of your fucking business Emily!" He shot back before taking a deep breath, "You always do this, you pry. You fucking pry into my life like it's your right. I don't owe you a fucking explanation about why I didn't like a name. I don't owe you shit."

"Christian" She uttered again as he clenched his jaw. "We both know that it's not about just not liking a name."

"I just don't like talking about her okay?" He admitted before briefly closing his eyes. "I don't want to remember her. I don't need to…"

"You don't need to?"

"I don't need a mother. I'm an adult. It's irrelevant."

Emily scoffed at his reasoning, replying in a sarcastic tone, "Yeah it's so irrelevant, which is why you're so upset."

Christian crossed his arms as he leaned against the dresser, gazing down at the floor. "Can we not do this now?"

"No" she firmly replied before going on, "It's simple, if we don't this now we won't do it. I need you to talk to me. If you're mad at me I need you to tell me why so I can try to fix it, but you cannot out-Prentiss me."

He nodded as he lightly brushed his thumbs against her baby bump. "I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize, just be honest with me" she gently ordered with a small smile, nodding for him to go on.

A few minutes of silence passed before he finally spoke up, "It's like all of my memories morph together with that one and I don't know how to separate them."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the fucking profiler, you tell me" he coldly requested as Emily shook her head 'no.'

"I want you to tell me."

Christian bit his bottom lip and nervously scanned the quiet bedroom, "I was there. I was there when she fell" he confessed in a quiet voice as the words hung in the air. He didn't have to clarify what he meant by the statement, Emily already knew. He was present when his mother died. "I just don't want to think about that" he stated in a voice that was barely above a whisper as Emily merely nodded. "Maybe someday I'd be fine with using that name, but right now everything is too fresh."

Emily slightly tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

He lightly swallowed before deciding to answer her, "It's just been fucking hard lately. I had never felt so fucking powerless like that in my entire life until…I really thought Ray was going to kill me and I just didn't care. It wasn't like I was looking forward to it, but I figured that maybe it was my penance. I don't know, but the idea of him touching you, hurting you made me sick and I couldn't do anything about it. I don't know, I guess all of those memories started mixing together" he shrugged. "I don't need anymore reasons to remember any of that, including a daughter named after my mother."

Emily picked up on him using the term 'mother.' It was always something he always did, evidently attempting to distance himself from the woman. Just a few months prior Emily could see the parallels between her and Juliet Markham, and apparently Christian saw them too. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, because I really do love you, but you're kind of a fucking mess" he told her in a matter of fact tone that would have ordinarily made her burst into a fit of laughter. But this time was different. This conversation was heavier, deeper, probably the deepest one they had ever had. It gave Emily further insight into who Christian Cavanagh truly was, why he was who he was. "I don't mean to be a dick, but you kind of are and I didn't want to dump that shit on you. You're pregnant and it's not good for you to be all stressed out with my fucking issues."

Emily sighed as she put her hands on his chest, "You still should have told me."

"It's just, fuck" he began as he roughly rubbed his reddened eyes. "You're like the only thing I care about. I could give a shit about anything or anyone else and that's fucking terrifying for me. Do you get how fucking impossible that is for me? You just, you can't ever not be okay."

"Okay" Emily agreed with a nod, realizing that the death of his mother probably left Christian with severe abandonment issues, which is probably why he compulsively pushed people away with his rough around the edges persona.

Christian shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair, "It's fucked up to want that from you. It's fucking impossible to guarantee, but I don't have anyone else. You're the only one. I just, you have to always be…"

"I'm not going to leave you." She firmly stated as she gently ran her hands through his hair. "I'm okay" she repeated before tenderly pressing her lips to his. "I'm fine" she told him again before pulling him into a deeper kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth as his hands found their way to her lower back, pulling her closer. The couple briefly broke apart as Emily whispered into his ear, "You don't have to worry about me."

Christian simply nodded as Emily brought her hands under his shirt, pulling the offending item off him and running her hands over the muscles and small scars while he teasingly ran his hands up and down her sides.

But this time wasn't about hormones or mere physical desire, it was about showing him that she was okay.

Christian cupped her cheeks, bring her into another kiss as she ran her tongue along the roof of his mouth, prompting his body to shudder before she slightly moved away, taking complete control as she kissed down his body. His breath hitched as she nipped the skin under his ear, soothing the area with her tongue, her hot breath dancing across the wet skin as he reached towards her chest.

"No touching" she ordered with a grin, pining his hands between his body and the dresser.

**I probably won't be able to update tomorrow so should we continue this with a double update day...**


	39. A Biting Incident

**I was planning on a double update day yesterday but I got super busy with school and unpacking. I seriously hate unpacking. Anyway, since we are in the final stretch of this story I am going to actually post an update on a Saturday before I head out.**

**Also, a heads up to the reader 'Lena-F,' I'm not going to do that Grey's Anatomy story because the storyline I was working with is too similar to this one. However, since I ALWAYS honor my _sober_ promises I'm going to let your choose ANY Emily/BAU member pairing, including Jordan Todd or Ashley Seaver, for a one-shot. The only BAU team members I'll rule out are Rossi or Strauss because I just cannot bring myself to write that.**** So let me know your choice in the reviews section. Please don't PM me because I will probably die before I actually check them again. Thanks.**

**A final "scene" alert, if you feel uncomfortable reading them just read the end.**

"I'm not going to leave you." Emily firmly stated as she gently ran her hands through Christian's hair. "I'm okay" she repeated before tenderly pressing her lips to his. "I'm fine" she told him again before pulling him into a deeper kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth as his hands found their way to her lower back, pulling her closer. The couple briefly broke apart as Emily whispered into his ear, "You don't have to worry about me."

Christian simply nodded as Emily brought her hands under his shirt, pulling the offending item off him and running her hands over the muscles and small scars while he teasingly ran his hands up and down her sides.

But this time wasn't about hormones or mere physical desire, it was about showing him that she was okay.

Christian cupped her cheeks, bringing her into another kiss as she ran her tongue along the roof of his mouth, prompting his body to shudder before she slightly moved away, taking complete control as she kissed down his body. His breath hitched as she nipped the skin under his ear, soothing the area with her tongue, her hot breath dancing across the wet skin as he reached towards her chest.

"No touching" she ordered with a grin, pining his hands between his body and the dresser. Christian slightly groaned as she moved to suck and lightly bite his collarbone, temporally paralyzed by the sensation as her hands slowly ran up and down his abdomen, stopping just short of his groin.

"For some reason I just love the oblique muscles" Emily husked as she continued her path down to his chest, grazing her teeth against his nipples while her digits brushed over his twitching abs. "But my favorite part of your body is this" She informed him as she ran her fingers over the slight 'V' muscle before stroking the bulge in his boxers as she nibbled on his earlobe.

"Oh fuck" he groaned as she moved to her knees, removing his boxers and lightly kissing his pelvic muscle, causing him to run his hands through his hair in anticipation, ruffling and pulling at his golden locks. Christian's breath became even more rapid as she lightly licked the tip of his member before applying more pressure with her lips. Christian groaned in pleasure at the action as his hands found their way into her hair.

"Fuck" he choked out as she moved slightly forward, taking more of him into her mouth as she continued to lightly run her hands up and down his obliques. After a few more moments, Emily began to slightly hum, making Christian take a deep breath as he tried to clear his throat.

"I'm going to…fuck…you, you have to stop" he told her in a broken sentence, slightly gulping as she briefly stopped, moving back to give him a perplexed look. "I want you" he simply told her with a pointed look as he gently grabbed hold of her wrists and pulled her up to him.

"This is about you" she told him as he switched their positions, pushing her against the dresser before using his arm to clear off the piece of furniture.

"I know and I'd rather fuck you" he told her with a grin as he pulled off her pajama bottoms in one swift movement, lifting her on to the dresser as she spread her legs and wrapped them around his lower body, his erection pressed against her thigh.

"Such a romantic" Emily sarcastically stated as she slightly adjusted herself, moaning as she felt his hardened member press against her core through her panties, grinding her pelvis against his to create a gratifying friction while his hands slipped under her shirt. "Mmmm" she let out as he sucked on her pulse point and gently brushed his thumbs against her sensitive nipples before completely removing the worn t-shirt shirt. She had to admit that she was glad that this was he preferred. Emily's hands moved into his hair, pulling him impossibly closer as one of his hands ran over the side of her left breast while his other slowly moved down her panties.

"If you keep teasing me I swear to God..." she threatened as he chuckled against her neck, stripping off the last remaining piece of clothing before he stroked the extremely sensitive area, slipping a single finger into her. She loudly gasped at the contact as he continued to lightly press open mouth kisses against her breasts, her hands drifting down to rest against his back, tracing the tattoo she had grown to memorize.

"Oh God" she breathlessly said as she already felt an orgasm approaching. There were a lot of downsides to pregnancy, but this was not one of them. "Christian" she panted while he lightly sucked the soft skin at the top of her breasts, careful not to apply too much pressure as he curled his fingers against her g-spot. He felt her body tense around his fingers before she let out a deep breath as she clawed at his back, causing red marks to color his skin.

"Fucking menace" he grunted with a smirk as she brought her hands around his hips, guiding his body closer to her as she slightly moved forward.

"Just shut up and fuck the menace" she almost growled before he entered her, a guttural moan filling the apartment as she brought her arms around his neck, relishing the closeness.

After teasingly giving her small pecks on the cheeks and forehead, Christian finally pulled Emily into a deep kiss as he continued to move in and out of her, the sensation causing her to moan against the side of his mouth. After a few minutes passed Emily knew she was getting closer, prompting her to lean back slightly and rest her head against the wall as her hands clutched Christian's shoulders while the new angle hit the perfect spot deep inside her, sending her over the edge.

Christian moved to tenderly trace his fingers over the sides of her breasts, which he had learned gave her the most pleasure while pregnant, while he kept up his movement inside of her, groaning as he felt her internal walls clenching over his shaft. As the minutes passed, Emily's rapid breathing gave away that she was close again.

"I'm going…to…come…" she informed him over a gasp as his finger began to stroke her core again.

"Really?" He asked in a labored breath.

"Mhmmm."

Christian grunted as her nails lightly scraped against his scalp, "I can hold out for…"

"Oh God…Christian just…just..." she tried to choke out as she felt the sensation building throughout her body. "Faster" she requested with a pant as Christian merely nodded in reply, unable to reply verbally.

"Christian" she moaned loudly, knowing how he reacted when she said his name in bed, or on other surfaces.

"Fuck" he groaned as he felt her orgasming again, following her a few moments later as his final thrusts drew out the sensations of intense pleasure, the feelings of ecstasy not allowing the couple to register the ringing of cell phone in the room.

After he pulled out of her, Emily lightly kissed Christian's heaving chest as her spent body collapsed against his, her hands still running up and down the nape of his neck. "Not now" she mumbled when she finally heard the distinct ringing of a cell phone. "Christian my phone" she told him as he nodded, pulling on his boxers as he briskly walked to the bedside table to grab her phone.

"It's the Wiz" he sighed as he handed her the phone before offering her the t-shirt she had been wearing to cover herself. He thought it would kind of weird for her to be talking to the blonde naked on the phone.

"Prentiss" Emily answered in the most professional tone she could muster, which probably still gave away what they had been doing since she was still gasping for air. "Okay, I'll be there" she responded as she hung up the phone.

"Case?" Christian knowingly asked as he picked up the remaining pieces of clothing off the floor.

"San Diego, it's a long flight. They want us to leave in hour so we can be there first thing in the morning. We're on a short timetable" she sighed as she looked to the clock that read 1:27am. "I have an hour to get to the jet."

"Go ahead and shower, I'll pack whatever shit you need. What do you want?" He asked with a sigh as she gave him a quick kiss after sliding off the dresser.

"Umm just throw a few snacks in my bag and if you could make me a cup of Chamomile tea so I can sleep on the plane that'd be great" She told him as she rushed into the bathroom. Around half an hour later Emily was ready to go, gathering the last of her things before she had to leave.

"Come on I'll drive you" He offered as he grabbed her bags for her, earning a glare from the fiercely independent woman. "Listen up kid, if there is any chance in hell you're going to be able to sleep in the fucking jet you can't be alert. So get in the fucking car and let me drive you" he chuckled as she rolled her eyes and agreed, picking up the baby names book from her mother and the thermos of tea.

* * *

The Virginia highway was eerily quiet, the humming of the couple's car the only discernible sound as Emily stared out of the car window. It was difficult to assure Christian that she was completely safe one minute and then run off to catch a serial killer the next, but this was the job. The only question was, how well did he understand that?

"I'm going to be fine" she reassured him as she shuffled around in the car seat to better face him, the moonlight illuminating his profile.

"I know" he nodded. "This is just who you are. This is what you do" he shrugged with a small yawn.

Emily bit her bottom lip, closing her eyes briefly, "Does that bother you? Would you ever want me to, you know, transfer?"

Christian took a deep breath, allowing a few moments to pass before he answered her. "My mother worked for a charitable foundation part-time and she passed. Just because you have a safe job, whatever the fuck that means, doesn't mean that you're immortal. It's fucked up but that's life. Why transfer to a job that would make you unhappy when there are no guarantees anyway? I don't want you to be fucking miserable."

"I just thought it might bother you."

"Of course it fucking bothers me" he replied in a quiet voice. "It bothers me, but a lot of things bother me. It would bother me more if people like you weren't out there catching the sick fucks…"

"And you" Emily interjected as she noticed a grin creep across Christian's face.

"Oh I thought I just sat on my fucking ass all day?"

"Well…" Emily drifted off before laughing. "But you're okay with being home with the baby when I go back to work?"

"Fuck yeah, I can train him however I please without your inter-fucking-ference" he laughed as Emily shook her head. "I got this shit planned out Starsky. First the boy and I are going to write some hate mail to that fucking bag o' shit Derek Jeter…"

"Oh God" Emily groaned with an eye roll.

"Next we'll make a homemade Big Papi crucifix for art and crafts hour. After that we're going to do story time about the time Larry motherfucking Bird saved Christmas. Then we're at bath time and we call that shit a day" He grinned as Emily put her head in her hands.

"What have I done?"

Christian scoffed at her complaining, "Fuck you, you've bagged yourself a grade-A catch here kid. I don't get what the fuck you're complaining about. You should be like sacrificing virgins to the Gods in thanks for lucking out with a guy like me."

"I'll put that on the top of my to-do list" She sarcastically stated with a lopsided grin before notching Christian opening his mouth to add something. "Whatever it is do not say it" she ordered as he started laughing. "So you're really okay with all of this?"

"I'm really okay with all of this."

"You don't think it'll be a disaster?"

Christian laughed at the question, "No it'll be a fucking disaster but we'll do it anyway. What's the worst that can happen? We fuck up this one we'll just have another." Emily covered her eyes as she started laughing at his idea. "Told you, fucking top-notch Mother Theresa material here."

"Oh definitely" She nodded. "Hey, not that I'm complaining, but why aren't you into oral sex?" She asked as they neared the airstrip whilst Christian tried to reign in a fit of laughter. "What?"

"Nothing" he shrugged as he tried to swallow a laugh, "Oral sex always comes to my mind too when I'm thinking of Mother Theresa."

"Shut up" Emily playfully scolded with a light slap as she too laughed at her awkward conversational segue. "Okay but really, tell me."

Christian slightly cringed at the question, "I don't know."

"Do not try to lie to a profiler Cavanagh" Emily ordered with a grin as she pinned a strand of hair behind her ear. "Come on just tell me."

"You can't laugh" he requested, biting his lower lip. "Promise."

"I promise that I will try not to laugh...if it's really not funny."

Christian scoffed at the weak attempt to sway him, "That's not fucking good enough. That's some fucking WMD-Bush-Presidency level flip-flopping there Prentiss."

"I'm having your baby!" The brunette argued as Christian shook his head and tried to hide a smile.

"You can't fucking use that for everything."

"In four months I am going to have to push a human out of my body, so yeah I'm going to use that for the rest of our lives. Now I expect some explanation into why you suffer from Blow-job PTSD" she firmly stated before chuckling. "I'm waiting…"

Christian rolled his eyes as he pulled into the parking lot, checking his watch to see they had five minutes to spare. "You're wicked mean kid. You know that? I'm fucking traumatized as hell by the entire situation. I'll have you know that my dick is my most cherished possession…" he began as he was cut off by Emily's snickering.

"I thought your Tom Brady life-size cut out was your most cherished possession?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Fine, both Tom Brady and my dick are both my cherished possessions" he replied in an annoyed tone as Emily shook her head in disbelief. "There was an incident" he quietly added with a slight wince.

"What kind of incident?" Emily inquired, her interest thoroughly piqued.

"A biting one" he admitted as she choked on her tea. "You promised not to laugh you fucking liar!"

"I promised to try not to" she defended as he shook his head with a peeved look on his face.

"It's not funny. I told you if was fucking traumatic. It tainted the hummer for me forever. Do you have any idea how fucking devastating that is for me?"

Emily nodded with lopsided grin, "Oh it is such a tragedy. You are so brave" she sarcastically mocked with an eye roll. "You're an inspiration. A reminder of the power of the human spirit."

"Fuck you" He scolded as he couldn't help but laugh at her snarky remarks. "Well anyway after that clusterfuck, literally, hummers make me all fucking squirrely now."

"That's hilarious" Emily tried to get out over another fit of laughter. "How did that even happen?"

"I was minding my own business and the girl just fucking panics" he shrugged, hoping she didn't want to talk about this subject anymore. But, of course, she did.

"Why did she panic?"

"We almost got caught" he confessed as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Please tell me you didn't do this in public" she almost begged as she noticed him turn red. "Is this why you said never to allow our child to go to the library? Oh my God a library! Christian!" She scolded as she hit him on the shoulder. "Some of my fondest childhood memories are from the library…"

"Mine too" he cut in with a grin as Emily shook her head in disbelief.

"You are such a pervert."

"It was like fifteen years ago" he defended as he ran his hands through his mused hair. "It was in the fucking Philosophy section of a library in Southie, in theory it should have been very safe."

Emily laughed at the defense, "I don't even know what to say about this."

Christian shook his head before giving her a smile. "Hey, I love you so be careful" He requested as he gently kissed her temple.

"I will. I'll call you when I land, love you too" she quickly replied as she gave him a quick goodbye kiss and grabbed her bag, boarding the jet as she took a seat next to JJ. Hotch opted to brief the team just before landing to give them a chance to sleep on the plane.

"So how was it?" JJ asked with an eyebrow raised with Emily assuming her friend had spoken with Garcia.

"I'm so not talking about that with you" Emily scolded as JJ scoffed at the brunette's rebuke.

"God Em I'm not Pen, I meant how did dinner with your mother go. How did it go?" She asked again as Emily started laughing.

"Sorry" Emily apologized before glancing over at a squirming Reid who must have picked up on what Emily and JJ were alluding to before. "It was fine. I mean it. It was actually very pleasant. My mom's excited to be a grandmother, although she is not too fond of the term. Christian was late and talked about drinking and driving and for some reason she called him charming. She actually liked him. She said he reminded her of a young Robert Redford..."

"That's it!" The blonde replied excitedly with a snap of her fingers as the members of the team turned to face her, Morgan glaring at her for waking him up. "Sorry" she apologetically offered before refocusing on Emily and whispering, "Pen and I have been trying to figure out who he reminds us of, and your mom nailed it. Anyway, that's great she likes him. It probably doesn't hurt that he's pretty dreamy."

Emily rolled her eyes at the comment before Reid started on his latest tangent, "Actually from a psychological standpoint JJ has a point. It's called the 'Halo Effect of Attractiveness.' People often attribute favorable traits to those we find conventionally attractive. For example, some clinical psychologists believe that without the mountain of irrefutable evidence against him, Ted Bundy might have gotten off because of his good looks and charm…"

Emily lifted as hand to stop the genius from going any further, "Reid please do not compare the father of my child to Ted Bundy" she requested as JJ started cracking up beside her before curling up in a blanket. The brunette smiled at the younger man sitting across from her as he gave her an apologetic look before trying to doze off to sleep. She just shook her head and chuckled as she continued to drink her tea, leafing through the list of baby names, reading each meaning before stopping at one in the letter 'A' section, repeating the name in her head over and over, confirming that it went well with Gabriel. The meaning seemed so perfect, so them. "Maybe" she quietly stated as she closed the book and tried to fall asleep.

Meanwhile back in D.C., Christian arrived home and took out his cell phone, calling the person he had been waiting to talk to. "Hey she's finally out of town. You ready to do this?"

**Any name predictions?**

**Also who did Christian call and what is he up to?**

**300+ reviews is truly amazing. Thank you for all of your feedback. I might do a one-shot contest for the 350th ****reviewer if we make it there. What do you think? I'm running through the different ideas in my head.**


	40. Nineteenth Century Prostitute

**This chapter is mostly to aid in tying up a few loose ends before a final big talk between Emily/Christian. After the next chapter there is going to be some comedy, maybe a touch of fluff, and an epilogue.**

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday, my brain was broken. I'm going to try to continue to update daily as we get closer to the ending.**

"Hey she's finally out of town. You ready to do this?"

"Finally my golden God, I swear I was going crazy for you to finally buy some bling for my Gumdrop. We're going shopping!" Garcia squealed on the other end of the line as Christian moved the phone further away from his ear while the woman tried to reign in her excitement. Christian had approached Garcia about helping him pick out a ring for Emily the day he surprised the brunette at the BAU after moving to D.C., but it was impossible to escape her prying eyes. However, since Christian was starting his new job with the MPDC that Monday he really had to start getting some things done. "Okay, what is on the docket Sinfully Delicious?"

Christian yawned as he sat down on the bed, "I have to buy a car seat and pack up the house. I want to get most of it done before I start my new job. I guess we can get the ring sometime between that stuff. How long could it take? Like half an hour right?"

"Uh sure" the technical analyst replied with a dumbfounded look. He had to be kidding right? A half an hour? "And baby shopping?"

"What is this? Fucking bankrupt Christian week?" He asked as Garcia started laughing on the other end of the line. "Emily asked me to trade in my car this week so I have to make sure I do that or I'll be living with a wicked mad pregnant lady. She's already all fucking pissy because JJ was right and we couldn't get into some Lamaze bullshit. The next class available isn't until after Emily will have had the baby, so that shit is a bust. I still don't know what you fucking need to take a class for, isn't it fucking simple? I swear people and all their 'feelings' make everything so goddamn complicated."

"I don't know, but a class could be fun."

"Not for us, JJ is going to be leading our class, so that'll be fucking traumatic."

"Hold on S.D., Buttercup is going to teach Gumdrop how to give birth? Well this should be interesting because I am sure that Gumdrop will not take to this. Can I come watch?" Garcia asked with a laugh.

"Oh yeah I'm sure Emily will just love that" Christian sarcastically added with an eye roll. "You showing up at fucking birthpocalypse 2012 is the worst fucking idea you've ever had, and that's really saying something."

"Well lucky for you I have connections" Garcia replied with a grin. "I have a friend from my medieval cooking class that runs a birthing class and I'm sure Aunty PenPen could score you a place in it. Just be sure to bring your future child's birthstone."

"Okay" he shrugged. "Medieval cooking class? What the fuck is that?"

"Oh it is _A-mazing_" Garcia theatrically sang into the phone as she did a dance in her chair. "We get dressed up and cook the cuisine of the past. Would you like to come? I need a partner for Haggis day."

"That sounds like fucking torture, but you know, have fun" Christian laughed. "About tomorrow, we'll have to see how much time we have left to do whatever insanity you have planned. Later Oracle, Cavanagh out."

"Tomorrow at 3 in the afternoon, I'll take a late lunch. Later S.D." the quirky technical analyst concluded as she hung up the phone and started clapping in excitement. "We are going shopping!" She exclaimed in an ecstatic voice to her empty apartment.

Christian sighed as he opened up his laptop to start browsing for various baby items. He had no idea what he was doing but Emily was busy and it had to get done eventually. Plus Garcia loved that kind of crap so who else would he turn to?

* * *

The next afternoon was exceptionally warm, the sun still somehow able to make its way into Christian's eyes through his sunglasses. He was dressed in his typical fashion, wearing a white t-shirt with a pair of jeans and a pair of dark blue running shoes, topped off with a red New England Patriots baseball cap. Christian has been waiting near the entrance of the jewelry story for ten minutes, not wanting to go in by himself, worried that he would be pressured into buying something that Emily would inevitably hate. It wasn't like his whole Gimmal ring idea had gone over so well a few months prior. Frustrated Christian checked his watch with an audible sigh, the quirky technical analyst was late, which was really saying something because Christian was always late.

"I'm here Sinfully Delicious, Auntie PenPen is here!" Garcia yelled as she ran across the parking lot. "I'm here. I'm here" she heaved as Christian started laughing. "I do not believe in running."

"How the fuck do you not believe in running? Running isn't a fucking theory" he shot back with a grin.

"Oh be quiet you" the technical analyst ordered with a smile. "By the by hot stuff, how man baseball caps do you own?"

"I don't know. Why?" Christian shrugged as he leaned against the side of the building.

Garcia rubbed her hands together in anticipation, "I think you and I need to go shopping for clothes…"

"No way in fucking hell are you taking me shopping for clothes" Christian adamantly replied as Garcia gasped.

"And why not?" The blonde woman inquired as she pouted while putting her hands on her hips in a defiant manner.

Christian scoffed at the question, "Why not? Because you'd dress me like a fucking middle aged golf caddy at Woodstock…"

"Oh I gots mad style my little naysayer."

"You dress like the spawn of Jenny from Forrest Gump and a Bratz doll."

"I will take that as a compliment" Garcia replied as she flipped her hair, making Christian burst into a fit of laughter. "And you should be embarrassed by the fact you even know what Bratz doll is."

Christian shrugged at the remark, "Okay Oracle, are we ready to do this?"

"Are we ever!" Garcia replied as she clapped happily. "Well my Sinfully Delicious what are we browsing for?"

"An engagement ring" he said in a snarky tone as Garcia sighed.

"Well obs hot stuff but what kind? First let's go through the four C's: cut, clarity, carat, and color. Now let's start with cut, what are we looking for round, cushion, heart, pear, emerald…"

"I thought we were looking for a diamond" Christian cut in with a confused look.

"Well duh, but emerald cut is one of the shapes a diamond can be" Garcia informed him with a snort. As expected Christian had no idea what he was looking for, but lucky for him Garcia was we'll versed in anything jewelry related. "So pretty and yet so dumb" she added as she gently caressed his face.

"Fuck you, I'm wicked smart. I'm fucking gravity discovering-atom splitting level intelligent" he retorted with a grin. "So color, I just want a regular fucking diamond. This isn't fucking Candy Land. And I don't know what kind of cut, probably not that heart kind."

"And setting?"

"I was just going to give it to her at the house."

"Oh my God, no diamond setting you oaf" Garcia responded with an eye roll. "You are truly hopeless. Not to worry, Godmummy is on the job!"

Christian furrowed his brow at the woman as he crossed her arms. "You know how some animals can sense if a natural disaster is coming?" He questioned as Garcia nodded in reply. "Well I have bad fucking feeling that I'm going to regret this" he wagered as Garcia scowled at him.

* * *

As the hours passed Christian was starting to get antsy as he meandered through the different jewelry stores with Garcia. It didn't help that the woman insisted she have the chance to try on the different engagement rings that 'caught her fancy,' spending the afternoon speaking in a fake British accent to compliment her new identity as 'Tippie Middleton,' the long-lost Middleton sister.

"What about this one?" The technical analyst asked as she pointed to an outrageously flashy engagement ring in a locked display case.

He scoffed at the selection, "What the fuck is this Oracle? Did I make a fucking error here? Because I thought I was buying Emily an engagement ring, not that I was some fucking impotent aging oil baron buying a ring for fucking Anna Nicole Smith."

"For Gumdrop's sake let's hope not" Garcia shot back as Christian started laughing. "Come on Cavanagh I know you have some money, this ring is gorg!"

Christian glared at the gaudy piece, "First, that money is for my son to go to college. And second, that ring looks like something an international mercenary would smuggle in a mule's ass. It looks fucking fake. And we both know that Starsky will be less than enthused about looking like a fucking nineteenth century prostitute."

"You are just no fun. But I will admit that Emster isn't really the flashy diamond sort of gal, maybe you're on the right track. Should we revisit the solitaire?"

"No" he groaned as he rubbed his eyes. They had already spent three hours looking at rings and he hated all of them. None of them were right, which really irritated him because he hated shopping with a passion and still had to pick out a car seat. "You know this was a lot easier when I just bought her the chocolate" he smirked. "To be honest Oracle, I just cannot picture Starsky with a traditional engagement ring. Traditional isn't really our thing, especially considering the whole pregnancy after the fuck and chuck thing. And I feel like a normal engagement ring would only get in the way when she's beating the shit out of people."

"That is a good point" Garcia agreed.

"What about a custom pair of brass knuckles with an engraving on the inside that says, 'I'm married bitches.'" He asked, prompting the blonde woman to burst into a fit of giggles as other patrons turned to stare at her whilst Christian got an idea. "What about something like this?" He asked as walked over to the display of wedding bands, pointing to a platinum round diamond eternity band.

"Oh my Golden God it's perfect!" The woman squealed, again catching the attention of everyone else in the store. "This is so Prentiss. And it won't get in the way when she's kicking some unsub ass. And stackable bands are so chic, so chic. It is very Audrey Hepburn. This is a-mazing, it is so perfect that I could just die. Kill me now hot stuff because I am ready. Gumdrop finally scored some bling, my life is complete" she rambled off excitedly.

"You're such a total fucking spaz it's wicked insanity" Christian laughed as he signaled over to the salesperson that he was ready, taking out a piece of paper with Emily's ring size written on it. "We're also going to need a matching chain" he added as Garcia nodded.

"You two must be very happy together" the middle-aged man remarked to Christian and Garcia.

"No we…"

"Let me have this" Garcia scolded with a pointed look as Christian rolled his eyes. "Yes we are mate, pip pip cheerio."

Christian smirked as he leaned his body against the glass display case, "We're having you fucking committed after this. I worry about your fucking safety, and Prince Harry's safety…"

"Ugh I love Prince Harry" Garcia replied with an exaggerated sigh that quickly turned into a knowing smile. "I've actually been working on a plan to make him mine which involves an emergency flight redirect, a magenta top hat, and a Jamaican ferret named Enrique…"

"Please try not to cause an inter-fucking-national incident over this Oracle" Christian interjected in a pleading voice as Garcia pouted in response to his request. "Did you want to come with me to pick up the car seat and buy a crib?"

"My heart, I am so touched" Garcia began as she clutched her chest and looked to her sparkly pink watch, her expression turning to one of deep disappointment. "I would love to my golden-haired seductor, but I actually need to get back to the office soon for my drug test."

"What?" Christian choked out over a cough in utter shock. "You have to take a drug test?"

"The evil wench leading my sexual harassment seminar requested it for me…"

"Sexual harassment? Who made you go to that bullshit?"

"An Agent Anderson reported me…"

"That fucking guy. What the fuck is that nonsense? Your attitude is nothing but fucking professional and delightful as hell. Anderson can go fuck himself."

"I know right" Garcia whined with a huff. "People these days…"

"Fucking politically correct downers" Christian agreed as the salesman shook his head.

These were the two weirdest people he had ever met, but maybe they were perfect for each other. "Well I wish you good look with your impending nuptials" he concluded as Christian paid for the ring, arranging to pick it up in a few days.

* * *

"Hey" JJ greeted as she sat next to her brunette counterpart on the BAU jet. Emily was leaning her head against the plane window, her eyes fluttering closed as she attempted to focus on a case file, 'attempted' being the operative word since any profiler worth their weight in gold could tell that she was distracted. Immediately after finishing the case in San Diego the team was sent on an emergency case in Seattle, not even being given the opportunity to debrief from the preceding case.m As a result the entire team was completely drained, with JJ especially worried about Emily. But, in typical Prentiss fashion, Emily didn't complain or let on that she was in exhausted in any way. However, her eyes betrayed how truly drained she felt. It wasn't just that she wasn't sleeping as well because of her advancing pregnancy, which she wasn't, or even because of the vivid dreams that had come to haunt her at night, once again caused by hormones. Rather it was something else that bothered the normally unaffected profiler.

It was early September and Emily was heading into her third trimester, in effect nearing the end of her pregnancy, which was bittersweet. Yes being pregnant was less than ideal and it was going to be great to be out of that discomfort, but the end of her pregnancy also meant that she was going to have a child. Emily Prentiss was going to be a mother, and she still wasn't sure if she was quite ready for that. It wasn't as if this had happened after years of trying and a long discussion with her husband or longtime partner. She had gotten pregnant by accident and now she had to deal with the consequences of it. Just the phrase 'deal with the consequences' made Emily feel guilty. Because is that how she saw her child, as a 'consequence?' Perhaps that is how her own mother viewed her, which only further unnerved the brunette.

Elizabeth Prentiss was never cut out to be a parent, that much was for sure. But how similar was Emily to her mother? How many traits did they share? Sure Emily was excited by the prospect of being a parent, but she also felt increasingly nervous as her due date approached. Was she cut out for motherhood? Was she maternal enough? Would she connect to him? Maybe she would have been better off with a daughter after all.

And then there were the dreams, the dreams that had been cruelly reminding her of her past. Those hormonal nightmares which acutely reminded her of all the mistakes she had ever made. What was she going to tell her son about her life before she had him? How was she going to explain her relationship with his father? Would she ever talk to him about his parent's complex history? How do you explain those sorts of things to a child? How do you make them understand? Should you even try?

The intense line of questioning ran through Emily's head as JJ cleared her throat and spoke up again, "Hey Em."

"Oh hi" Emily replied, moving her head as she gave the other woman a smile. "What's up Jayje?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to know how you were doing. These cases have been…"

"A lot" Emily filled in as the blonde nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, so how are you feeling?"

"Fine" Emily shrugged. It was an honest answer. Physically she had no complaints other than the exhaustion and soreness that came along with carrying a baby. However, if Emily complained every time she was in a state of mild discomfort she'd be complaining all the time. "How are you? How's everything with Will and Henry?"

"Henry's good" JJ responded with a sigh, "And you know how Will can be. He's great but he doesn't always understand the job, or maybe he does and just wished he didn't. But that's just marriage. You know how it is."

"Yeah" Emily nodded although it wasn't completely true. Yes her and Christian did occasionally argue about her job, but it was hardly a pattern for them. The simple fact was that Emily and Christian did have their problems, but her working at the BAU just wasn't one of them. Their main issues stemmed from the their qualms about being parents. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that the schedule wasn't hard on Emily.

"Are you ever going to, you know, set a date?"

Emily sighed as she rubbed her temples, "I don't know. I guess it's just not really a priority for us. I think I feel as committed to Christian as I will ever be and I'm sure he knows that. It's just not something I'm really focused on right now."

"So what are you focused on right now?"

Emily took a deep breath and laughed, "Oh nothing much, just trying to figure out how to become the perfect mother."

"Well let me know when you get that figured out" JJ deadpanned with a grin.

**The next chapter features more insight into Emily's emotional state as ****we near the ****close of this story.**

**At the moment I'm debating what pairing I'm going to do next. Any requests?**

**Thanks again for your support. **


	41. I Actually Think I'm in Labor

**There will be a time jump in this chapter.**

It had taken nearly three weeks for Emily to finally make it home. As soon as the team finished the case in San Diego, they were sent to Seattle and finally to an emergency case in Abilene, Texas after a serial killer named "The Silencer" escaped from prison. It had been tough on her, especially since as her pregnancy progressed she became progressively more exhausted. But it was more than just the hormones and being physically drained. It was always more than that.

It was around three in the afternoon when Emily made her way into the apartment, noticing the home was almost completely packed up, save for the large furniture pieces and the TV. Emily sighed as she saw that the bowl she normal threw her keys in was also gone, massaging her temples as she set her purse and keys down on a large box in the kitchen labeled 'dishes.'

"I'm home" she called out as she took a pint of ice cream out of the freezer. "Christian?" She yelled again before realizing that he had started working again and wouldn't be home for a few more hours. Deciding that she was more tired than hungry, Emily put the frozen treat back and walked to her bedroom, taking a quick shower before slipping into the bed, putting on the worn 'Beat LA' green t-shirt she immediately knew Christian had slept in the night before. Maybe it was the hormones and maybe it wasn't, but she really missed him while she was away and it was comforting to be surrounded in his scent. Sergio curled up next to her as she took out her cell phone and dialed her mother's number, waiting as she reached the voice mail prompt.

"Hey mom, it's me Emily" She began with a small groan, rubbing her eyes as she leaned her head against the bed's collection of pillows. It was so typical, the pattern that remained the same whether she was forty or six. She needed her mother and the Ambassador was busy. "I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff, but it's, it's okay. I'll just call you after my next scan, so uh, bye" she awkwardly stated as she hung up the phone and closed her eyes before finally drifting off to sleep a few minutes later.

A few hours had passed before Emily started stirring, opening her eyes to watch Christian quietly taking off the red and blue striped Repp tie he had worn to work. "Hey" she softly greeted as he turned around to face her.

"Hey kid" he replied with a smile. "When did you get home?"

"A while ago" Emily answered as she looked over to the bedside clock that read '7:12.' She couldn't believe that she had just wasted four hours napping in the middle of the day.

Christian furrowed his brow as he undid the top button on his white dress shirt, "You should have called me."

"I didn't want to bother you since you were at work."

Christian scoffed at the excuse, "Fuck work. People who are fucking hot as hell don't really work. Don't you realize my role in the office is to basically class up the joint with my fucking charm and smile?" He sarcastically questioned as Emily rolled her eyes.

"So you packed just about everything while I was gone" she noted in an almost guilty tone.

"The house finally closes in a week so I guess this is the plight of your fucking slave boy" he teased as she gave him a tired smile.

"I'm sorry. I really should be helping you" Emily apologetically remarked with a sign as she started to rise from the bed before Christian raised his hand to stop her.

"I was just fucking with you Starsky. You don't have to worry about this shit. I don't mind. It's not a big deal" he stated with a shrug.

Emily bit her bottom lip as he approached the bed, sitting on the edge next to her. "You know the last time I considered leaving, I wasn't sure anything would ever be the same again. And maybe it's not exactly the same, but you made me feel like it could be just as good" she remarked in a quiet voice as she looked up to him. He just softly smiled at her as a few moments of silence passed, "No snarky comments?"

"Not this time" he replied as he kissed the tip of her nose. "So what's bothering you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seem off. What's up?"

Emily took in a deep breath before answering him, "There have been a lot of cases."

"Yeah?" He simply responded as he nodded for her to go on. "Have they been really bad or something?"

"They've been tough, but…" She trailed off as she studied his face, his features softening, signaling that he desperately wanted her to talk to him, and maybe she needed to. She needed to let him in, she needed to be honest. She hadn't the last time and look how well that had turned out. "I'm having a baby in three months. We're going to have a baby."

Christian rubbed his eyes and slightly chuckled at the remark, "Normally that does happen when one gets pregnant."

"I'm just not sure if I know what I'm doing. I know I said that we'll figure it out but maybe I'm not cut out to be a mother…"

"Why would you say that?" Christian questioned as he furrowed his brow. "I don't know why you think that because I think it's a load of bullshit."

"I was just gone for three weeks Christian. Three weeks and I wasn't home once. Will a baby even remember me after being gone three weeks? My entire life I resented my mother because she was never around, and now I'm going to be exactly the same way. What is our son going to say when his mother is gone for weeks at a time? How is he going to feel about me when you're the only one who's there for him? When you're the one who makes it to his soccer games and school plays and meets with his teachers. When you're the one who puts him to bed every night and makes him feel better when he's sick. How is that going to work? Do you have any idea how it's going to feel knowing that my son loves his father more than me? Do you get that? Because it's going to happen. It's going to happen the same way it happened with me and mother. I'm not going to be there for him and it's going to happen again."

"You don't know that. Quit talking about this like it's fucking inevitable."

"I don't? Christian it happens all the time. Mother is frequently gone and rebuffs the child. Child develops anxious-avoidant insecure attachment issues and further pushes people away emotionally, stunting their emotional growth well into adulthood…"

Christian laughed bitterly at Emily's assessment, "This is such a load of fucking Yale-yuppie bullshit. He's not going to love me more than you. He'll eventually get why you're gone. Kids adjust and it's not like this all the time" He tried to reason. "It's not like you're always gone. It just happens sometimes, and, unlike your mother, when you're here you'll really be here. You won't just dump spawn off to a fucking nanny so you can go out dancing. Me, on the other hand…" he tried to tease before she interrupted him.

"This is not a joke Christian. I know you don't think this is an issue because in the world of Christian Cavanagh there are no issues other than if the Red Sox lose."

Christian ran his hands through his hair as he got off the bed so he could better make eye contact with the brunette. "That's not fucking fair Emily. Are you saying that because I'm not convinced you're going to be a shitty mother I don't care about being a parent? Because that's fucked up."

Emily shook her head at the man, "That's not what I meant. It's just, it's like you don't see how straining this going to be on us. Are you okay with basically being a single father when I'm gone? Because I've seen what this job can do to relationships, to marriages. I've seen it with Hotch, I've seen it with Rossi and I see the strain it has put on JJ and Will…"

"So?" He asked as he took a deep breath. "We're not those people."

"Yet" Emily cut in as Christian rolled his eyes.

"I think you're being a little fucking dramatic. I'm not going to fucking leave you because of your job. I get your job, it's what you do. I can't see myself as anything other than a cop and that's how you are with being a FBI agent. I get that…"

"But" Emily cut him off as Christian gave her an annoyed look. "It is going to be so much harder with a baby."

Christian ran his hands over his face before he spoke up again, "God you make everything so wicked complicated it's fucking unreal. Emily, I have never played games with you. I have always been fucking honest with you so when I tell you something I want you to listen and believe it. First, I am not going to leave you over your job. I'll admit that there will be days that really fucking suck and days where you'll probably want to leave me because I'm acting like a total dick. And I'm probably going to be an asshole some days and be pissed the fuck off about you not being here and you'll probably feel like shit. That's going to fucking happen. That's a fucking relationship, but that's not going to mean that I regret anything. It doesn't mean that I don't love you or that I don't want to be with you. It just means we're imperfect and we're having a shitty day. That's it" he assured her as he kneeled down on the floor in front of her. "And our son is definitely going to love you. Even when he acts like a little shit he's going to love you" he joked as Emily chuckled. "He's going to love you because you're his mom and he's going to know how much you love him because you're going to spend every minute you can telling him. And you're probably going to turn him into a giant fucking nerd so let's hope he's athletically pro-fucking-ficient or else that poor boy is going to be teased nonstop."

"Kids can be real jerks" Emily nodded as Christian gave her an evil grin.

"I meant by me" he quipped as Emily lightly hit his chest. "You're going to be great at the whole mothering thing. You will. It's going to be fine because when you're here you'll be here. When you're here you'll spend time with them. You'll get to be fun mommy and I'll have to be the fucking gingivitis preventing 'do your homework, sorry your mom is busy saving the fucking world' boring parent" he added with a smile as Emily noted a specific word he used. _Them._

"I'm supposed to be the calm one" Emily sighed as she ran her hands through her hair. "You're the one who freaks out and is generally a mess and I'm the calm one. That's how this works."

Christian shook his head and tried to hide a smile at the unintentional insult, brushing his thumb against Emily's cheek. "First, I was the fucking calm one before when we started dating so fuck you. Second, Emily you're pregnant, I think you're allowed to be nervous about all of this. Let's be honest here, having a baby is freaky as fuck. You have this thing inside you making you go all crazy, it's like a fucking horror show" He said as she glared at him. "A beautiful miraculous horror show though" He added with a grin as Emily started laughing. "But if it makes you feel better I can freak out right now because I'm fucking nervous as hell. Fuck, I don't know how to be a parent. Do you have any idea how many times I say 'fuck' a day? It's fucking unreal, and I just did it again. I can't fucking stop. How can I stop something that's ingrained in me?"

Emily laughed at the inquiry, "This is true."

"And I don't know how to swaddle. I thought it was a fucking cruel baby straitjacket but everyone is like, 'oh swaddle this, swaddle that.' JJ was trying to teach me with a doll and I dropped it. Are babies that slippery in real life? I hope not because I fucking dropped our fake baby! And did you know that there is literally a fucking self-destruct button on a baby?" He more informed than asked in a serious voice as Emily couldn't help but smile. Because this is what she needed. She needed the assurance that despite what Elizabeth Prentiss had taught her, it was okay to be scared sometimes.

"I love you" she quietly stated over a sigh. "And I noticed you bought some stuff for baby."

"That I did" he smiled as he sat down on the bed in front of her. "I got that shit done Starsky. I bought a car seat and not to fucking mention that I picked up all the baby furniture you wanted and traded in the car for an SUV. Which is why I fucking resent you because it's going to be a-fucking-amzing to drive. It's a fucking Audi Q7 V6! I tell you a goddamn German engineering trade in gets you a long way. What does Irish get you?"

"Alcoholism" Emily giggled as Christian glared at her.

"Well la-di-fucking-da look who's the asshole now" he remarked with a cocky smirk that made Emily laugh.

"But really, good job Daddy."

"And your mom sent over a stroller. It looked pretty high-end, confusing as fuck so we'll have to read the directions for that. Oh and I got you something else" he remarked as he walked to the dresser before returning a few seconds later with a small yellow envelope, placing it in her hands.

Emily bit her bottom lip as she opened the envelope, finding a silver chain with the ring on it. "Christian you didn't have to get me anything. I was happy with the chocolate bar" She stated with a smile as she gazed at the ring, admiring and examining the piece of jewelry.

"I know, but I wanted to. Do you like it?" Christian asked with an eyebrow raised. "Is it something you'd see yourself wearing?"

Emily just nodded in response. She wasn't the type of woman to appreciate a large engagement ring, but rather a classic simple one and he knew that. He knew her, and this just confirmed it. "I love it and you remembered the chain in case my fingers swell" she smiled as she embraced him. "You did good."

"Oh I did."

"Mhmmm" she replied as she inhaled sharply, running her hands over his chest.

"So what are we thinking dinner-wise because I need to be fucking fed before I throw a fit. Pizza?"

"I think I just need to unwind from everything first."

"Okay" Christian nodded, not picking up on what she wanted. "Rossi sent me some pasta recipe he wanted me to try out and then we can…"

"No" Emily ordered as she slipped her hands under his shirt, raking her nails up and down his back.

"Now?" Christian questioned as he titled his head. "I have an idea. What if while…"

Emily lifted her hand to quickly interrupt the man, "Not on the kitchen counter."

"Why not?"

"Because I eat at that counter."

"It'd be your ass" Christian shrugged as Emily grimaced.

"That's just plain unsanitary" she replied in a matter of fact tone as Christian scoffed at her.

"Unsanitary? What about the time on my kitchen counter?"

"That entire place was unsanitary. I should be grateful I didn't get syphilis from that dump" she teased with a lopsided grin.

Christian scratched his jaw line as he tried to his a smile, "Fuck you. I've never had syphilis. Gonorrhea? Sure. Chlamydia? Definitely. Herpes? For fucking life."

"Oh stop already, you are just turning me on too much. How can I control myself around you?" Emily sarcastically said with an eye roll.

"I imagine you ask yourself that question around me a lot Starsky" he winked before smugly adding, "As do most of the female population."

"It must be because you're so humble."

Christian shrugged and nodded at the comment, "Yeah I am pretty fucking amazing. To bad I have terrible taste in women" he teased as Emily lightly smacked him on the chest.

"Asshole" Emily playfully chided as she pushed him down and straddled him. "Now shut up and fuck me Betty Crocker."

* * *

Emily was about seven months pregnant when her and Christian finally moved into the Georgetown house, with Christian forcing Emily's 'work husband,' Morgan, to help him paint. However, even as Emily's pregnancy progressed it was nearly impossible to keep the brunette from her job. In fact, it was only after returning from a case in Winslow, Arizona that the team's unit chief told a nearly nine month pregnant Emily, in so many words, that he had no intention of helping her birth her child on the BAU jet and that she was to stay at the BAU until she took her maternity leave. Maternity leave that she was, in theory, going to start a few weeks before she was due to give birth. However, it turned out that both Emily and the Cavanagh offspring had other plans.

It was an unusually cold day for December in Washington D.C. and the team was off doing consults and various other assignments. The team had just returned from the Winslow case and after being debriefed had a short window of time where their work was a bit more flexible, which sent them off in different directions. Rossi was guest lecturing at Georgetown, Hotch was teaching a profiling class at the FBI academy, JJ and Morgan were doing a consult in Alexandria, and Emily, Garcia, and Reid were stuck at the BAU doing paperwork. Well Reid and Emily were anyway, God knows what Garcia did during those days. It was around ten in the morning when Reid first noticed Emily wincing at her desk, constantly rubbing soothing circles over her now pronounced baby bump.

"Emily are you okay?" The male profiler asked in a kind voice, with Emily giving him a pained weak smile in reply.

"Oh I'm fine, it's just Braxton Hicks" Emily answered as she waved the man off, cringing again at the pain. _This is fine. This is just fine, the baby is just active today. It's only December 7th, you still have over two weeks. Plus, women pregnant with their first child can often go past their due date and this baby is a Cavanagh. Cavanaghs are always late. You're fine Prentiss, you're not going into labor at the BAU. That was JJ's thing, not yours._

"Are you sure you're okay?" Reid asked again as Emily slightly grunted. "I've noticed that every ten minutes you slightly cringe and furrow your brow…"

"Oh yeah it's fine. I have to get back to work" Emily stated in a firm tone as she tried to refocus on her case report, re-reading the same sentence over and over again. "Fuck" she groaned as she rubbed her temples. "Hey Reid, I actually think I'm in labor."

**I just want to thank everyone for their continued reviews and support. It makes writing and updating so much more fun so thank you. **


	42. I Will Help You Hide Any Body

**This is going to be a longer chapter, but I didn't want to split it up.**

**And don't worry, there's not going to be a graphic birthing scene. I don't think I could handle the research to write that.**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Reid asked again as Emily slightly grunted. "I've noticed that every ten minutes you slightly cringe and furrow your brow…"

"Oh yeah it's fine. I have to get back to work" she stated in a firm tone as she tried to refocus on her case report, re-reading the same sentence over and over again. "Fuck" she groaned as she rubbed her temples. "Hey Reid, I actually think I'm in labor."

"WHAT?!" Reid yelled, even more unnerved by how nonchalant Emily was about everything. Emily had said 'Hey Reid I actually think I'm in labor' like a normal person would say, 'Hey Reid I actually do think that Mad Men is an overrated show' or 'Hey Reid I actually would prefer an order of french fries instead of a side salad.' Reid slightly gulped at the news, "Are, are you sure?"

Emily sighed as another contraction hit her, "Yeah my water just broke…"

"WHAT?!" He yelled again as he took out his phone to call Garcia. "And you didn't tell me?" He scolded as he waited for Garcia to answer his call.

"I did tell you. I told you right now dumbass" Emily growled as the pain momentarily subsided. "Shit, I don't have the baby bag with me. I don't have any of my labor stuff. What am I supposed to bring the baby home in? A bed pan?"

"I'm doing my best" Reid replied in a panicked voice as he gestured wildly. "Garcia, Emily is in labor!"

"WHAT THE WHAT?!" Garcia screamed into the phone as she spit out a mouthful of Cup of Noodle soup on to her computer keyboard. "My babies!"

"There's only one baby, that we know of..." Reid corrected as Emily glared at him.

"Hey Reid, any chance you could, I don't know take me to fucking hospital so I don't have my baby in the middle of the BAU with the umbilical cord cut by Erin Strauss!"

"Oh right the hospital" Reid whispered as Emily face palmed. He was literally a genius so how was he so clueless? "Garcia meet us at Emily's car. The baby is coming" he exclaimed in a nearly giddy voice as he helped Emily out of her chair, cringing as he noticed the leather chair was covered in fluid.

"Don't you dare even think about saying anything Reid or I will end you" Emily threatened with a pointed look as the two slowly made their way down to the parking lot, meeting an ecstatic Garcia at Emily's car.

"THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE! SUCK IT JJ!"

"JJ is still the godmother PG" Emily sternly informed the other woman with a look that said 'I'm going to push a human being out of my body, don't even think about fucking with me right now.'

"Yay JJ" Garcia unenthusiastically stated as she got into the backseat of the SUV before Reid drove in record speed to the hospital. Maybe Christian was right, the V6 did come in handy. However, although things seemed to going somewhat smoothly, Emily had made the mistake of relying on the duo to accomplish an extremely important task to aid in her delivery. A task Garcia and Reid forgot about because they were both absolute messes.

"OUR BABY IS COMING!" Garcia announced as she went barreling into the Fairfax, Virginia hospital, waving her hands around wildly as she caught the attention of a nursing intern while Reid pushed a very unhappy Emily in a wheelchair close behind.

"Ma'am?" The redheaded nurse in her early twenties questioned the technical analyst with a confused look.

"She's having my baby. She's in labor" Garcia pointed to Emily, who just waved back.

"Okay then, let's get her admitted and then we can get you and your partner into a labor-delivery-recovery room…"

"Partner?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. "No no no, we are not together. I am not with this woman in any way" she adamantly clarified as Garcia gave her a dirty look.

"What? Do you think you're too good for me?"

Emily scoffed at the offended woman, "PG, can we not?"

"Sorry sorry" Garcia relented as the poor nursing intern cringed.

"Oh I apologize, but you never know in these circumstances" the nurse began as she motioned for the group to follow her while another member of the staff worked on getting Emily admitted. The FBI credentials definitely helping to expedite the process. "Let me get you situated and then we can talk about our delivery room protocol for surrogates…"

"Surrogate?" Emily asked with a bitter laugh as she clutched the arms of the wheelchair, her knuckles white as she tried to ignore the contraction. "I am not a surrogate for these two."

"Unless…"

"Shut up PG. You are not getting me baby" Emily ordered with a glare as she rolled her eyes. "You see this is what happens when you go around announcing that I'm having your baby. And maybe I wouldn't care as much if this was the first time this little confusion occurred…"

"Or even the third time" Reid corrected as both women glared at him.

"Umm, I'm just an intern, I'll get you someone else" the young woman offered as she rushed out of the room. This was going to be along delivery for everyone.

* * *

After being rushed to the hospital and being admitted to the maternity wing, Emily was more than a little disheartened to discover that yes she was in labor, but no, nothing was happening at the moment. All she could do was wait, wait for everything to get worse before it got better. Which only made her more enraged because she really hated clichés at that moment. But to be fair, she hated everything at the moment.

"Please, when do I get my epidural?" Emily almost begged as a nurse came in to check on her while Reid attempted to administer ice chips to his friend from a safe distance.

Emily's newest nurse, a middle-aged woman named Patty, sighed at the question, "I'm sorry honey but you're not dilated enough. We need you at least four centimeters and you're only at three." Emily just shook her head at the news, unable to verbalize a reply. "We're going to keep an eye on you, don't you worry" the nurse assured as she checked a few of Emily's vitals and left the room.

"Did you leave that message for Rossi asking him to drop by my house and bring my delivery bag when he finishes his lecture? Did you tell him where we hid the spare key?" Emily asked as Reid merely nodded in response. "Where the hell is Christian? I can't believe that he's late for his own…" Emily drifted off as she studied the guilty expression of the man in front of her. "Oh my God, you didn't call him!"

"I forgot" Reid defended as Emily rolled her eyes.

"You have an eidetic memory!"

"I was stressed."

"_You_ were stressed?!"

"W-what do I do Emily?"

"Well" Emily began in an eerily calm voice, "I would suggest that fix this colossal fuck up by calling the father of my baby! What if he misses this?"

"I highly doubt that Emily. On average first-time mothers are in labor for six to twelve hours, and that's just the first stage of labor. In fact…"

"STOP TELLING ME THIS!"

"Okay" Reid squeaked as he left the room, running into Garcia who was on the phone with JJ. "Christian" he whispered as Garcia slightly winced at the realization that they had both forgotten to call Emily's fiancé.

Meanwhile, Christian was in a meeting with the captain of the Baltimore Police Department's Criminal Intelligence Unit, attempting to work out a joint D.C.-Baltimore undercover task force targeting a weapons dealing ring. Christian sighed as he silenced his phone again, the constant ringing interrupting the tense meeting. "Where were we?"

"I believe you just told me to go fuck myself" the older bald-headed man answered with a scowl as Christian smirked before his phone began ringing again.

"Fuck" Christian groaned as he mindlessly answered the obnoxious device, "Lieutenant Cavanagh."

Thoroughly frustrated by his ignoring her five previous calls, Garcia opted to forgo her normal intricate greetings and cut right to the chase, "Emily's in labor."

Christian choked on the other end of the line as he jumped out of the wooden visitor's chair in the Baltimore office, "Is she…are you sure? It's like two weeks early. Fuck I don't have the bag or…"

"S.D. forget the bag, get down here for your baby mama right now before she kills us all in a hormonal rage!" Garcia ordered in a stern voice as she skipped into Emily's delivery room.

"Okay, I'm coming. I'm coming" Christian breathlessly told the woman as he ran his hands through his hair, finally addressing the other man in the room. "I, fuck, I have to go my Fiancé is having a baby" he offered as he bolted out of the office. He was an hour away from the hospital and hoped that Emily wouldn't give birth before he got there.

* * *

"Emily…" Reid began in a soft tone as a sweaty Emily glanced over to him.

"Yes Reid?"

"I want you to know that although there are no specific statistics recorded on the subject, it is very common and there is no shame in soiling yourself during the delivery…"

"I'm going to fucking murder you!" Emily shouted as she pointed to the man before grabbing his hand as another contraction struck.

"My hand" Reid yelped.

"Why don't these drugs work? Why didn't they give me the good stuff?" Emily grimaced as she tried to take a deep breath before her body finally relaxed. All she wanted was for it to be over, but for some reason she was stuck in some sort of delivery purgatory that felt like she was doomed to for all eternity. She had been in labor for nearly two hours already and there was no end in sight, and her epidural felt like it did absolutely nothing. As a result the brunette was less than pleased about the progression of the day, which was what JJ had characterized as the 'psychotic anger' stage of delivery. Needless to say, Reid was taking the brunt of the abuse, but there was plenty to go around to any who dared to enter into the delivery room. "Where is Christian?"

"Wisely staying far away from this" Reid muttered under his breath as Emily glared at him.

"I can't believe this. He is such an asshole, and a dick. He's a dickhole. First, he gets me pregnant and then leaves me to give birth alone. Not even JJ is here. What the fuck am I supposed to do with you two…"

"Hey" Reid cut in with a scowl. "What is that supposed to mean? I've been very helpful."

Garcia lightly hit Reid on the shoulder as she entered into the room, "Your baby daddy coming doll, and I brought balloons" Garcia coaxed with a smile as she held out the fifteen blue balloons she had bought in the gift shop.

"This isn't fucking 'Up' Garcia. Balloons don't fix this" Emily groaned as she grit her teeth. "Okay I can do this. I am Emily motherfucking Prentiss and I can do this without the aid of the man who once suggested we name our child Ray Allen Jr. I can do this" she remarked in an assured tone before more pain went coursing through her body. "Why won't this just end? When is this going to end?"

Garcia gave Emily a pointed look before speaking up, "Well maybe if someone had stayed in their birthing class they would have learned some techniques to..."

Emily rolled her eyes at the comment and immediately cut the other woman off, "Oh do not start with me about that Garcia! That class was a fucking mess and I will never forgive you for sending us to that."

_Two and a Half Months Earlier_

_Emily was six months pregnant when she and Christian made their way into Garcia's friend's 'Mother Earth' birthing class, which was being held in the back room of a Holistic dog food store. The couple was late because Emily was stuck on a consult in Baltimore the entire day, which resulted in her being even more exhausted than she usually was, which led to her to being somewhat irritable. The exhaustion coupled with her baby's constant kicking made Emily not quite at Christian-level irritable, but irritable nonetheless._

_As the two walked closer to where the class was being held they began to hear a woman lecturing, "Yes, when we do a water birth we want to be sure to keep a small sieve near the pool so you can filter out anything floating in the water."_

_Christian immediately stopped after hearing the piece of advice, lightly grabbing Emily's wrist. "Please don't make me go in there."_

_"Quit being such a big baby" She huffed as she walked towards the room. "It's Garcia's friend how bad can it be?"_

_"I think your question is answer enough" Christian quietly replied as the brunette glared at him. "Okay, okay I'm coming" he relented as he trudged into the building behind her, groaning as he and Emily took a seat towards the back of the __room as Garcia's purple haired friend continued. The woman was wearing some sort of burlap sack style of dress with sandals and her colorful hair done in dreadlocks._

_"Now are there any more questions about home water birth?" She asked as Christian glanced over to Emily with a haunted look on his face. "Okay, well, before we transition into talking about the benefits of olive oil during delivery and into daddy doula training with the aid of hypnosis, le__t's answer any questions we might have about an orgasmic birth…"_

_"What?" Christian spit out as he and Emily shared a look of pure horror._

_"Do you have any questions about how you can set the mood for an orgasmic birth?" The woman asked as another man rose his hand._

_"Wait a fucking second here" Christian began as he lifted his hand to stop the other man from speaking. "What the fuck are you talking about? Am I hearing this right?"_

_The instructor shot Emily a sympathetic look before refocusing on a confused Christian, "Are you uncomfortable with the idea of the female orgasm?"_

_"No" Christian scoffed with an eye roll. "I'm all about the fucking orgasm. How do you think she got pregnant?" He added with a smug look as Emily blushed in embarrassment.  
_

_"Christian!" She yelled as she hit his shoulder, prompting the group to gasp._

_"We do not advocate violence. This class is a safe place" A blonde woman spoke up as Emily rolled her eyes. "And I do not want baby Echo to be exposed to…"_

_"Echo?" Christian interrupted with a laugh. "What kind of fucking name is that? Echo is a fucking sound."_

_"It's a lovely name" the instructor spoke up as Emily tried to stifle a chuckle._

_"I'm, I'm sorry, is that a boy or a girl's name?" The brunette profiler asked, attempting to undue all the condescending remarks Christian had just made. However her plan didn't work._

_"We don't know. We don't believe in gender…"_

_"You don't believe in fucking gender?" Christian asked incredulously as he moved his hands to cover his eyes, trying to shield himself from the place that Garcia had tricked them into attending._

_"I'm sorry, we're just very new to all of this" Emily offered to the group. "We just need to finalize our birth plan. I do have a question though about the epidural…"_

_"Oh I do not approve of epidurals during delivery. We advocate a drug free delivery" Garcia's friend informed the couple as Emily gave her a perplexed look._

_Emily looked over to Christian who just shook his head in response, "No drugs?"_

_"No drugs" the instructor reiterated in a stern voice._

_"I'm out" Emily stated in a matter of fact tone as she made Christian help her off the floor so they could leave, walking in silence before they finally made it to their car. "What the hell just happened?"_

_"Fuck if I know Starsky" Christian replied with a shrug. "I'm fucking scarred for life kid. So what are we going to do about spawn now?"_

_Emily waved off the man's concerns as she rubbed her baby bump, "It'll be fine. We'll figure it out. I've been stabbed before, how bad could childbirth be in comparison?"_

Emily scoffed at the memory, "For all we know those bunch of mother earth weirdos could have put a fucking hex on me which is why I'm going to be in labor throughout all of eternity and...Oh my God! I sound just like Christian."

"Garcia I'm scared" Reid whispered as Garcia nodded in agreement.

"I am too my petite genius. I am too."

* * *

Much to his dismay, it had taken Christian an hour and a half to finally make it to the hospital, which had made him feel completely useless. Emily had been in labor for nearly four hours already, her mother had already called by JJ, and her bag had been provided by David Rossi. And what had he done? How had helped her on what was probably simultaneously the most important and most physically painful day of her, their lives? Christian frantically ran throughout the large hospital, finally finding Morgan and Reid, who were in the waiting room.

"Where is she?" Christian breathlessly asked as he jogged up to the two men.

Morgan took it upon himself to answer the man, knowing that Reid was still trying to process the ordeal he had just experienced. "She's doing okay. Baby girl and JJ are with her now. Room 114" Morgan called out as Christian started running in the direction of the room, well he thought it was anyway but it took him fifteen minutes to actually find it.

"I'm here" Christian heaved as he made his way into the room, noticing that Emily was panting, a layer of sweat covering her body. "Fucking shit" he mumbled as he hunched over to catch his breath. "Fuck, you're right Oracle, running fucking sucks ass" he complained before focusing on Emily. "I know I'm never any fucking help but I'm here" he stated again as he approached Emily, nodding to Garcia and JJ that they were free to go.

"Four hours late, new record" Emily almost smiled as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "God you're always fucking late" she playfully chided as Christian leaned over to kiss her temple, completely unconcerned by the fact that her hair had bonded together in clumps from the sweat.

"I know, I'm sorry kid" He replied in a soft apologetic tone as he took a seat next to her, offering his hand.

"He's early" She remarked in a quiet voice that was tinged with apprehension.

"I know" Christian replied in a tender tone as he took a deep breath and offered her a smile. "Which means I want a paternity test" he teased as she offered him a pained smile. "So have much of a fucking menace have you been so far?"

Emily laughed before another contraction hit, squeezing Christian's hand in a vice grip, surprised by the fact that he didn't comment on how much it had hurt, because she knew it must have. But maybe because of all the adrenaline he didn't even notice the pain. Or maybe it was that he just didn't care. "This is taking forever Christian. When is this finally going to be over?"

"I don't know" Christian admitted with a shake of his head. "Fuck I don't know Emily, but I'm not leaving."

"I know" Emily nodded as she bit her bottom lip and slightly cringed at the newest wave of pain. "God I hate you so fucking much right now it's unreal" she stated in a matter of fact tone that Christian couldn't help but laugh at. "I may have threatened to murder Reid…"

"Dont fucking worry kid" He interjected as he rubbed small circles over her knuckles. "I told you already, I'm your fucking life sentence. I will help you hide any body" he assured her as she gave him a genuine smile.

"What a romantic" she sarcastically said with a smirk. Yes, her body was exhausted and the pain was horrendous, but Emily Prentiss knew that this was bearable, because all pain in life was, except this pain was going to be worth it.

* * *

It had taken nine more hours before Emily was finally ready to push, and it had felt like an eternity. Emily had been present for JJ's fifteen hour labor, but she hadn't remember it taking this long. But then again it isn't exactly the same when you're the one going through it. She had spent three hours irrationally, okay maybe not irrationally, angry with most of her anger directed towards Christian who just took the abuse in stride. The next two hours brought about an apologetic Emily, especially towards Reid, and the final four hours were spent in a heartbreaking fashion with Emily finally allowing the tears to freely fall.

Meanwhile, although Christian had kept his calm exterior, inside he felt his heart breaking at the sight of Emily in tears from the pain, crying to him about how much it hurt. Emily didn't complain about minor discomfort, hell she didn't even complain about major discomfort. She had been branded, staked, and gone back to work after literally being hit by a truck, but this had reduced her to tears. The feeling of uselessness, empathy, and yes, even pity only intensified after hearing her screams in pain. And while Christian's head was spinning and he felt like he was going to be sick at the sounds of her suffering, Emily felt a certain sense of stability coming from the man beside her.

Perhaps deep down she knew how difficult this was for him too, but in the moments when it truly mattered Emily knew he was completely there for her and that knowledge calmed her. Maybe that was the essence of their relationship, that even if they were both utterly terrified they would be there for each other. They stay would stay calm for the sake of their partner until it was their turn to have a breakdown. And Christian felt that Emily had completely earned this.

After nearly nine months and fourteen excruciating hours of labor, a cry rang out as the room became more frantic, nurses and doctors cleaning off the infant as Christian peaked to see the newborn who was covered in a layer of fluid, but still looked perfect nonetheless.

"Is everything okay? Is he okay?" Emily asked in a slightly worried voice, craning her neck to see the wailing newborn.

"You have a perfectly healthy baby boy" The nurse assured her with a smile. "We are just cleaning him off, clamping the umbilical cord and Dad, would you like to cut it?"

Christian slightly gulped at the question. First because he was slightly squeamish about the idea of cutting the cord, and second because she had called him _Dad_. He was a father. He was someone's Dad and that was going to always be a part of his identity from now on. To this new little person he was no longer Christian Cavanagh: Boston Smartass, but 'Dad.' Christian scratched the hair near his temple as he studied the small baby in front of him. He looked so small, his skin slightly reddish. It was impossible to know who he would end up looking like, but Christian knew he would be perfect regardless, because he already was perfect. He was theirs.

"Umm, is it okay if I don't?" Christian nervously asked Emily who nodded in response as the three other women in the room just laughed as Emily's doctor cut the cord and placed the child on Emily's abdomen, performing a series of other tests on the infant. The nurse attempted to explain each test and the cumulative Apgar score. And while Emily was intently listening, it all went over Christian's head, because in that moment he didn't care about anything other than the fact that his son was there, and that he was healthy.

"He's not too small right?" Christian questioned in a quiet voice as he noticed the baby's skin transitioning from the purplish tint to a complexion closer to Emily's if she was slightly sunburned as the child opened his bright blue eyes, looking like he was completely confused by where he was as the nurse gently scooped him up to be weighed.

The nurse smiled at the nervous first-time father, "He's seven pounds two ounces, completely healthy. Mom you can begin breastfeeding whenever you're ready. I'll come back in about an hour to collect him for his first bath and Dad can come supervise." She instructed before wrapping the baby up in a blanket and handing the child back to Emily to hold, the brunette gingerly running her hands over the baby's fine dark hair as Christian took out his phone to take a picture.

"You did good kid" Christian complimented as he pinned a strand of hair behind Emily's ear and kissed the top of her head.

"We made him" Emily quietly remarked as the newborn brushed against her nipple, immediately latching on, his head just under the four-leaf clover brand on her chest, once again briefly bringing her past to the forefront. But then again, Emily thought that maybe there wasn't anything wrong with remembering the past as long as you don't let it define you. And in that moment she had a much better alternative to define herself by.

"And his head doesn't look like a traffic cone so wicked good work there" Christian added as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, because that was what I was going for" She sarcastically commented as she gazed back at the infant, almost in tears she looked down to her nursing newborn, the emotion overcoming her normally stoic features. "God he is so your child" Emily laughed as she studied her partner's face. "Are you crying?"

"No. I'm not Peyton Manning" Christian shot back defiantly as he rubbed his tired eyes. Emily took a deep breath and chuckled at his response as the infant stopped nursing.

"You should hold him" she instructed as Christian nervously nodded as took the baby in his arms, careful to support his head like JJ had shown him a few months earlier.

"He looks like a doll" Christian remarked as he studied his son's chubby cheeks and smiled when the baby started to lightly squirm. "He's definitely our son because he makes other babies look like a pile of garbage. Good thing he's cute because hospitals make the baby swap wicked hard nowadays" he teased as Emily laughed.

"Hey, you should go let everyone know he's here and then we'll call my mother. She'll probably be landing soon. God she is going to be so pissed that he didn't wait for her. He's already my perfect little boy" she smirked as Christian chuckled. "So are you going to go?"

"You trying to get rid of me now that you've got a newer model?"

"And cuter too" Emily teased with a lopsided grin. "But really, we're waiting on the afterbirth and I really don't want you to be here for that so get out of here while you still can" she ordered with a pointed look.

"Okay" Christian nodded as he leaned down to give the child back to his mother and softly kissed Emily's forehead. "I love you kid."

"I love you too…" Emily drifted off as she glanced back down to the newborn.

* * *

Christian entered into the hospital waiting room completely disheveled. His clothes were wrinkled, the sleeves on his blue dress shirt rolled up to his elbows, his navy blue tie no wear to be found, but the smile on his face was unmistakable as he approached most of the unit. Hotch had stayed as long as he could, but after a few hours he had to head home to Jack, making JJ promise to inform Emily that he would drop by with his congratulations in the morning. However, the rest of the team had stayed. It had been two years since they had last spent all night in a hospital waiting for Emily, but this was different. This was for a much better reason, a reason that compelled the team to stay behind and wait to meet their newest family member.

"As of 1:24am on December 8, 2012 the spawn of Cavanagh is officially here. Seven pounds two ounces" Christian proudly stated as JJ gave him a hug.

"My Sinfully Delicious is a daddy and my Gumdrop is a mommy! Aaaahhhhh I'm so proud!" Garcia squealed as she threw her arms up in celebration.

"Nice work man" Morgan remarked as he patted the younger man on the shoulder while the rest of the group moved to hug the new father with Garcia noting a small rip on his shirt collar.

"What happened here?" She asked as Christian grinned in response.

"Oh this is courtesy of Bruce fucking Banner over there" He answered, nodding towards the direction of Emily's room as the team started laughing. "So you want to meet him or what?"

"Oh my God Sinfully Delicious, do you know any of us at all?" Garcia asked she pushed Morgan out-of-the-way and rushed towards Emily's private room.

"That broad is wicked insane" Christian laughed as the rest of the group walked back towards the room, entering to see the newborn completely content in his mother's arms.

"My ovaries" Garcia whispered as she clutched her heart before walking over to collect the child from Emily, the brunette intently watching the blonde technical analyst with her son. "Oh my God he is so cute. How is it even possible that he is so adorable? Look at his perfect little nose. Oh my god I just want to eat him up. Some babies can be just blah after birth, but this baby is adorable!" Garcia quietly squealed before inhaling the newborn's scent and giving the couple a dirty look. "Too adorable, I warned you about this gumdrop. I specifically told you not to have such a beautiful baby. You should have at least passed down a lazy eye or something to deter the babynappers. My God I'm considering stealing your baby and I'm not even a weirdo…"

"Well that's debatable" Emily replied with a grin as the room erupted into a fit of quiet laughter. "Garcia, let JJ and Morgan hold their Godson."

"But…"

"Garcia" Emily warned as the other women huffed and reluctantly handed the newborn over to JJ.

"The humanity" Garcia huffed as Christian started laughing at her dramatics.

"Are you finally going to tell us his name?" JJ asked as she gazed down at the child, remembering when her own son was that age.

Emily ran her hands through her hair, brushing back any strands that were still stuck to the sides of her neck before she answered the her friend, "You are holding Asher Gabriel Cavanagh…"

"Asher means 'fortunate, blessed, and happy.' Biblically Asher was the eight son of Jacob and was promised a life that was blessed with abundance. Deuteronomy 33:24 reads, 'Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed; and she called his name Asher.' Culturally Asher is also a character in the dystopian children's novel The Giver, which centers on the theme of the importance of memories, even painful ones and that the painful memories remind us of true happiness. I read it once while waiting in line for a coffee and highly recommend it" Reid rambled off as Christian titled his head in confusion.

"I think Reid got it all" Emily laughed at the genius blushed. "We're just so blessed to have him because he's the reason why we're here now and we always want him to know the part he played in our story. And Gabriel because we always want him to know he's being watched over and protected" Emily added as JJ gave Asher to Morgan to hold.

"Hey Ash-dash, you and Uncle Derek are going to have so much fun together. Aren't we buddy?" Morgan asked as he gently swayed the newborn in his arms. "Nice work Princess, this little guy is only going to help with the ladies" He added as Emily rolled her eyes.

* * *

After a few minutes of idle chitchat and passing Asher around to the various members of the BAU team, Emily started yawning, her body thoroughly exhausted from the events of the day.

"Well done to you both, he's a beautiful boy" Rossi spoke up with a smile as he looked to his watch. "I really should get going. I am very happy for you both" Rossi concluded as he leaned down to give Emily a gentle hug.

"Yeah we should let you get some rest" JJ agreed as she shot a look to Garcia, who pouted and nodded in agreement as the rest of the team said their goodbyes and finally handed the newborn back his father.

A few moments of silence passed as Christian continued to hold his son, gazing down at infant that he strangely owed his life to, not just in a figurative sense either. "This feels weird."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow before smirking, "Are you bolting Cavanagh?"

"No" Christian laughed at he took a deep breath and handed the baby back to Emily, scratching his jaw line after he did, "I don't know how to explain it, it just feels strange. I've never met someone and automatically loved them, you know? I mean everyone says that when you see your own kid you fucking change and all that other emotional bullshit, but it's not bullshit. I spent like half a year worrying that I wouldn't love him like I was supposed to and now..." He drifted off as shook his head and laughed. "Fuck, this kid could set me on fire and I'd be like, 'well he probably had a good reason.'"

Emily couldn't help but smile at the remark, because in spite of all the snark, arrogance, and the occasional Irish temper flare up, Christian Cavanagh would love this child. He _did_ love their son, and deep down Emily always knew that. Even when she was debating how to tell him that she was pregnant, on some level Emily always knew that he would love their child. It was always a given. "I never asked you if you wanted them here, your family."

"You are my family" Christian stated in matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, you're stuck with me for life, Hutch" she remarked with a lopsided grin.

He laughed at the statement, "When are you going to get your own fucking lines kid?"

Emily just shrugged in response to the question, "Eh, I guess when I get tired of stealing yours."

"Your Mom is a fucking menace" He teased as Emily rolled her eyes. "A total badass too but still a fucking menace."

"I meant what I said before Christian. If Asher's first words are anything close to 'fuck' I will end you. And then I will dress him in a Yankees hat and a Derek Jersey jersey to your funeral."

"You don't dare" Christian challenged as he bit his lower lip, trying to hide a small smile.

"Just try me Boston."

Christian just shook his head as he looked down to the peaceful newborn in Emily's arms, "Your Mommy is wicked mean. She's like Disney villain level mean."

Emily laughed at the description, "And you just love it."

"Yes I do." Christian nodded with a smile.

**So about my next project, right now there a quite a few Emily/Derek stories in progress so I'm probably going to either do a JJ/Emily story or a Hotch/Emily story, or maybe even Reid/Emily pairing. Which would you prefer reading?**

**Perhaps Lena-F's one-shot will help me sort it out. **

**Ashley0906 had an idea I absolutely loved about a Garcia/Emily/Morgan love triangle, but it would break my heart to write it. I can't let either Emily or Garcia get hurt, unless they both run off together. Hmm….**


	43. Pol Pot or Kim Jong-un?

**The final chapter before the epilogue.**

**A BAU bachelorette party, what could possibly go wrong? **

"What have you done?"

"I don't know" The other uniformed police officer admitted in the dark hallway of the police precinct, nervously biting his fingernails. "I thought it was the right call. How was I supposed to know…"

"You dragged me into this" the twenty something year old man accused in a bitter voice. "Look what you've done! Everything I've worked for is going to be for fucking nothing after he finds out. Do you not understand that? Do you not get the magnitude of how bad you've just fucked up? It's all over for us now."

"I know."

"He's going to kill us."

"Maybe not."

Twelve Hours Earlier

It fairly quiet in the BAU bullpen, the gentle buzzing of paperwork being completed the only discernible noise until a familiar voice cut into the relative silence.

"What up kid?" Christian greeted as he walked into the bullpen with fourteen month old Asher in his arms, the little boy squirming happily when he caught sight of his mother. Christian laughed as he glanced down at the excited little boy, "Whoa buddy, cool your jets. I swear I haven't seen someone this friggin' excited since Sully McAdams told everyone Suzy fat lips gave him a hummer in the back room of Jordan Marsh."

"Christian!" Emily scolded as she rolled her eyes. "I warned you about this. He's talking now, what if he starts saying stuff like that?" She questioned with a glare as she collected the child from his father, the young child burrowing his head into his mother's neck, sighing happily as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, making him giggle in response.

"Technically you didn't want his first words to be F-U-C-K, but his first word was 'ma' so I don't see how this is my problem anymore. I'm in the friggin' clear hear Starsky" Christian grinned as Emily reached out to slap him on the shoulder.

"Why aren't you at work?"

Christian shrugged at the question, "I wanted to be the one to drop him off to your mother's house before your night of de-fucking-bauchery commenced. If anyone from my office asks I got fucking Cholera" He teased as Garcia came running towards the group.

"MY PRINCE!" She called out as she approached the little boy, snatching him from his mother's arms.

"Mama" Asher huffed, pointing to Emily as Garcia started dancing around with him, prompting the little boy to start laughing.

"What is it about the BAU breeding all these blonde haired blue-eyed babies?" Garcia questioned as she gestured to Asher's curly blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes, the analyst running her hands on the material of the little boy's red footed pajamas with black moose printed on them. The young child looked quite a bit like Christian, except he had Emily's skin tone, eye shape, thick eyelashes, and smile. In fact all of his expressions mirrored Emily's. Overall, he was a shy, cuddly little boy who just adored his mother, Aunt JJ, Uncle Morgan, and Uncle Dave, but was still a little skeptical of the crazed technical analyst. "So what are you boys going to be up to tonight?" Garcia asked Christian who stretched out his back as he leaned against Emily's desk.

"Considering my entire life before Emily was a bachelor party we're just going to catch a basketball game. No strippers just sports" Christian clarified with a pointed look as both Morgan and Reid started grumbling for different reasons. "Quit being all fucking pissy just because you're not getting your way. If I wanted to spend my precious time with a whiny bastard I'd go out for fucking tea and crumpets with Peyton fucking Manning…"

"I'm sure he's just waiting by the phone for your call" Emily sarcastically stated with an eye roll as the group started laughing.

"Come on, it's gonna be wicked pissa, fucking Wizards can't play for shit."

"Langauge!" Emily scolded as Christian flashed her a grin.

"I don't know anything about sports" Reid complained with a sigh. "The last time I went to a sporting event it was on a date and it was a disaster."

"Wasn't that with JJ?" Christian snickered as Emily glared at him.

"That's it" Garcia spoke up in an assured tone. "You are coming with us to our little bachelorette party!" Garcia exclaimed as Christian burst into a fit of laughter at the idea.

All along Emily had no desire for a bachelorette party, feeling that at forty-one with a fourteen month old son she was past that part of her life. However, after JJ's kidnapping Garcia convinced her that they all needed some fun and that a night of drinking and dancing would be a good thing for them all. So Emily reluctantly agreed to allow her co-maid of honor to plan a bachelorette party, which admittedly worried her. But how bad could it be? Garcia was a FBI agent, it wasn't like she was going to make them do anything illegal.

"But I'm not a female" Reid spoke up in a confused tone. "Bachelorette parties are traditionally for women, not men."

"Oh come on Reid, you've always been a bit androgynous. It's the hair" Garcia stated in a matter of fact tone as the genius blushed.

"Garcia you're making him uncomfortable" Emily rebuked her younger friend as she shot a small smile to a thoroughly embarrassed Reid, "You really should come though. You'll have fun. Plus, I need at least one sane person to help me cope with _that_" she began as she pointed over to Garcia, "and an angry drunk JJ."

"Fine" Reid sighed as Christian bit his bottom lip to stop from laughing. "Do I have to wear any phallic symbols on my face?"

Christian grinned evilly at the question before speaking up, "Do you want a dick on your face Reid?"

"Christian!" Emily chided as the cluster of agents erupted into a fit of laughter at poor Reid's expense. "You know what? Get out of here before I change my mind about marrying you next month" She ordered as she motioned for Garcia to hand Asher back to Christian.

"But we already ordered all those Cherry Blossoms" he argued as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Get out of here and I'll see you tonight" She instructed again as she kissed her son's cheek. "Mommy and Daddy will pick you up in the morning okay? You're going to spend the night with Grandma."

"Gamma" He excitedly clapped his hands as Emily just smiled. Maybe Elizabeth wasn't the best mother, but she was a pretty amazing grandmother. It was almost as if her mother wanted to make up for the all the grandparents Asher didn't have, and Emily had to admit that she kind of did. "Bye mama" he waved with a smile as Christian walked back towards the glass BAU doors after he was thrown out by Emily.

"Tonight is going to be so amazing! Aaahhhh I'm so excited!" Garcia exclaimed as she and Morgan high-fived.

"Just what are you planning?" Emily asked as Reid slightly gulped.

"Oh you just wait and see" Garcia cryptically said as Emily face palmed. This was going to be bad. She just knew it. Maybe it was mother's intuition, but it was probably just common sense.

* * *

The night had started off normal enough. Sure Garcia had made Emily wear a veil, a tiara, and a sash that said 'bride' as they went bar hopping throughout all of Washington D.C., challenging each other to various drinking contests, which Emily had been winning. However, by Garcia standards it wasn't that outrageous of a night. Of course the brunette prayed that she didn't see any other moms from Asher's playdates, but she always did that when she went anywhere with the quirky technical analyst.

But this was different, because how was she going to explain the hot pink cowboy hats that read, 'Bride's Bitches' all her friends, including Reid, were wearing? It wasn't like she was twenty-five anymore, it was kind of embarrassing. Nevertheless, the night was about to get even worse when the group of sloppily drunk women and Reid stumbled into a D.C. Gentleman's club they had happened upon, Garcia forcing the group to go in to 'The Candy Shop.'

"Garcia what're we doin' here?" Emily slurred as Reid raised his hand to stop her.

"Just go with it Em'ly" he ordered with a stupid grin on his face.

Reid hardly ever drank. And when he did he never drank as much as he did that night, but that was largely because he never had tried something as tasty as a frozen margarita. So when Garcia introduced him to the drink at the beginning of the evening he was pleasantly surprised, and even more surprised that it didn't taste like alcohol at all. So wrongly thinking that he wasn't getting progressively more drunk, Reid had another, and another, and before he knew it he was just as plastered as the rest of the group. And while the typically sober Spencer Reid would have never frequented such an establishment, a drunk Spencer Reid was a stripper's best friend, acting like someone he had remembered from a music video Morgan had shown him a few months prior.

"Ima make it rain up in here."

"Ya'll gonna make me lose my mind up in here, up in here" Garcia chanted as the group made their way to a table near the front of the stage. "You all are so pretty" Garcia yelled to the stage with a wide smile. "I believe in you!"

Emily scoffed at her friend's kind words, "You need to go to college young lady" she ordered as she pointed to one of the dancers. "Don't tell no one but I can see your boob" Emily said in the loudest whisper ever as JJ burst into a fit of laughter.

"That's the point Emily" the blonde slurred as she gulped down another shot, unsure of where she had even found it. "Where is this from?" She asked as she lifted the shot glass. "It's just like Christmas. Happy Birthday Jesus" The newest profiler quietly stated as she slammed another drink.

Garcia downed a shot as she hung her head in defeat, "You know what? You know maybe I wanna be a stripper too. I like sparkles. I can move to the beat. Why didn't anyone ask me? Why can't I be free? Why can't my girls roam the English countryside looking for love? Why Emster?"

"You can be whatever you want to be" Emily assured the sloppily drunk woman as she rubbed Garcia's cheek before hiccuping. "I believe in you and your dreams!"

"Yay!" Garcia exclaimed as she bounced around in the chair. "Whaddya think about getting up there and showing us some moves hot stuff?" Garcia questioned as Reid clapped happily.

"You should do it for the children" Reid stated as Emily nodded.

"Damn right, hashtag humanitarian" the brunette proudly stated.

"You can strip?" JJ asked as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Pssh" Emily scoffed, waving off the concerns. "I can take off my clothes. It's not fucking rocket science" she announced as she tried to approach the stage.

"Ma'am?" One of the dancers asked as Emily tried to climb on to the stage, before falling down, raising a finger to interrupt the other woman.

"Don't worry, I work for the FBI."

"Ma'am you are going to have move away from the stage" A large bouncer ordered, lightly grabbing Emily's wrist as Emily pouted and an angry JJ approached the scene, having gone into full angry drunk JJ mode.

"What is going on here?" She ordered as she put her hands on her hips. "Get your hands off her or I will show you how a real man kicks asses. We're just minding our own business trying to enjoy some strippers."

"Yeah" Emily argued as she furrowed her brow. "This isn't communist Rome, I can do whatever I want. America!"

"America, America, America" Garcia started chanting from the table as Emily pointed to the other drunk woman and nodded, smirking smugly at the man.

"See. And I challenge you to a duel of body and wits."

The middle-aged large bouncer sighed at the group, "Ma'am if you do not leave the stage area I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Me?" Emily asked with she pointed to her chest. "I'm supporting these strippers and this entire establishment...

"Throw us out and I will burn this place down to the ground!" JJ yelled as Emily nodded in agreement, gesturing to the room.

"And then we'll strip all over it like America would want us to!"

"That's it" The bouncer huffed as he rubbed his eyes. "You all have to go. You are no longer welcome here."

"Who died and made you O'frah?" Emily scoffed as she made at face at the two bouncers.

"Yeah and ya know what? Well...I don't know, but when I think of something it's gonna be real good" JJ added with a stern look.

"Come on" the bouncer insisted as another man helped him throw the group out of the club.

"I don't know those two I swear" Reid tried to argue as Garcia swiped a few glasses of alcohol as she followed the group out the back door into the alleyway behind the club, where Emily vomited all over someone's umbrella.

"Oh no, you poor thing" Emily almost teared up, brushing her hand against the handle of the umbrella as Garcia slammed a shot and threw the glass on the ground, glass shattering everywhere.

"TAKE THAT PUTIN!" Garcia yelled as JJ grabbed the other shot glass while an uniformed police officer cautiously approached the group.

"Ma'am I'm going to ask you to put that drink down" the brown-haired twenty something year old officer ordered as JJ laughed at him and drank the shot.

"There, I put it down" JJ challenged with a grin as Garcia and Reid started laughing. "Wanna see me put ya down?"

"You got me a stripper" Emily remarked in a touched voice as she pointed to the uniformed officer. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. And he's so cute, like a safari Meerkat"

"Safari Meerkat? Is that the thing where you get a corset, a periscope, and a framed poster of Mitt Romney…"

"Stop!" The officer yelled as Garcia licked her lips, completely believing that the man was a stripper JJ had ordered, not a legitimate MPDC officer.

As a result, the woman ran up and tried to embrace the man, "Take off you pants. Let me see your baton" she ordered as the officer handcuffed her, calling his partner in for backup. "I don't like this part" Garcia complained.

"It's okay, you get used to it" Reid assured as a shocked Emily turned to look at him, causing the man to start to turn beat red.

"Did JJ do that to you? Is that why the date was so bad?" Emily inquired as JJ scowled.

"I never had sex with Spencer Reid! I have standards…"

"Hey" Reid complained in an offended tone.

"Don't worry Spence it wasn't me, it was you" JJ spoke up, trying to placate the genius before refocusing on the police officer and Garcia, "Don't you touch her!" She yelled as she rushed at the officer.

"This is the best party ever!" Emily exclaimed as she downed the remnants of a drink Garcia had brought into the alleyway.

* * *

"This is the worst party ever" Emily complained as she rested her head against the cold Washington D.C. Police precinct jail cell. It turned out that Officer Hendricks wasn't a stripper after all and the entire group was arrested. JJ was arrested for assaulting a police officer while Garcia and Emily were arrested for public intoxication, all three women locked up together as they tried to sober up.

"Nobody knows that trouble I've seen, nobody knows the sorrow" Garcia quietly sang as the other two women turned to face her.

"What are you singing?" JJ asked as she rubbed her temples, trying to fend off the headache that was already fast approaching.

"It's a jail song, duh" Garcia shrugged as she used her thumb to point at the blonde, making a face as she did so.

"What are you talking about?" An irritated Emily inquired with a groan. "Why is that a jail song?"

Garcia rolled her eyes at her friend's ignorance before she began, "So there's this intense political thriller movie that I love. It is super intense and it's about this amazing ruler who everyone in the kingdom loves, except his brother who wants to steal the crown from him. So his brother uses the prince to set up the king and the king dies, it is _so_ sad. So the prince runs away and is raised by a lovely gay couple and meanwhile back in the kingdom the new king takes over and he is so evil. Oh my God he is so terrible and he locks up all the old king's political advisors and that's where this song comes from" She informed the profilers as Emily raised an eyebrow at her.

"PG, is the intense political thriller The Lion King?"

"Yes" Garcia exclaimed, her shrill voice only intensifying their headaches. "I love that movie!"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I really want to kill you right now" JJ stated in a matter of fact tone as Emily nodded in agreement. "So are we calling Will or Christian?"

"Christian" Emily answered in a firm tone. "The only question is, should we ask him to hold back or go full asshole?"

"Full asshole" the other two women decided in agreement as Emily nodded.

"I'm tired of waiting, I want my phone call now" Emily ordered in a stern voice.

Meanwhile, Officer Hendricks' partner, Officer Olivier had just dropped off Reid in the male holding tank and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Emily making her phone call to Christian in the precinct hallway. He knew that woman. He remembered her from somewhere. He hadn't see any of the women that had been arrested, since Hendricks had already put them in the squad car before he arrived, but he knew her from something else. The young police officer slightly gulped as he ran to one of the top levels of the building, peering through the glass panel of Christian's office which only confirmed his suspicions. He couldn't see it from that angle but Olivier knew what picture was in the frame resting on his boss's boss desk. It contained a picture of a dark-haired woman and a six month old baby during the previous year's Cherry Blossom's festival. "Oh God no" he quietly whispered in a panicked tone as he went running back to find his friend and partner.

"It's Cavanagh's fiancée!" Officer Olivier exclaimed to Hendricks, who was calmly sipping on a cup of coffee in the break room.

"What?" Hendricks asked as he took another gulp of the beverage.

"The woman with the dark hair, she's Cavanagh's fiancée" he reiterated as Hendricks choked on his coffee.

"Please tell me you're lying" Officer Hendricks begged as his entire body tensed. "Please tell me you're lying. Oh my fucking God, please don't tell me that I just arrested Lieutenant fucking Cavanagh's fiancée!"

"He made me dust his office once and it's her. I saw her in a picture on his desk. They weren't lying, they are all FBI Agents! Cavanagh is going to kill us, they have a baby together!"

"I know!" Hendricks groaned as he pulled at his hair. "What do we do?"

"I don't know" Olivier said in an exasperated tone. "What have you done?"

"I don't know" The other uniformed police officer admitted in the dark hallway of the police precinct, nervously biting his fingernails. "I thought it was the right call. How was I supposed to know…"

"You dragged me into this" the other officer accused in a bitter voice. "Look what you've done! Everything I've worked for is going to be for fucking nothing after he finds out. Do you not understand that? Do you not get the magnitude of how bad you've just fucked up? It's all over for us now."

"I know."

"He's going to kill us."

"Maybe not" Hendricks tried to offer in a hopeful tone as they rushed back to the holding cell, hoping to get the woman out of the cell before Christian arrived.

* * *

"Look at these fucking characters" Christian said, grinning like a Cheshire cat as he approached the three women, taking out his phone to snap a picture. He had just been woken up and was wearing a white Notre Dame t-shirt with a pair of jeans, and although he was tired, Christian loved to fuck with people, and tonight was no exception. Plus, it wasn't like he was going to let two officers get away with arresting Emily, especially because she said they didn't even bother to check her credentials, assuming that she was drunkenly lying to them. That was just shoddy police work and Christian hoped that they would learn from it.

"Can you just get us out of here?' Emily asked over a loud groan as the camera phone's flash further irritated her pounding headache.

"If I get woken up at three o'clock in the fucking morning to bail the three fucking stooges out of jail you bet your ass I'm going to get photographic evidence. Maybe this can be our Christmas card for next year" He teased as Emily glared at him before Christian noticed the two junior officers rushing towards him. "Show time ladies. I'm going to throw out some fucking Katherine Hepburn level acting realness here" he grinned as he turned to face the two officers. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" Christian shouted as the other two officers grit their teeth at his tone.

Olivier and Hendricks rushed back to the holding area with smiles plastered on their faces as Hendricks spoke up in a shaky voice, "Hello sir. I was just…"

"You were just arresting the fucking mother of my child you dumb fuck" Christian scolded as Emily smiled. "Is she fucking Whitey? Did I fucking miss that day when she told me she was fucking Whitey Bulger?"

"No sir…"

"Oh wait" Christian began again as he rubbed his chin, "Maybe she's Jimmy Hoffa. Tell me Henley, does she look like fucking Jimmy motherfucking Hoffa to you?"

"No sir."

Christian scratched his head in mock confusion, "Then what the fuck you think you're doing Henley?"

"It's Hendricks sir."

"Oh la-di-fucking-da, you know what" Christian began with a pointed look. "You're fucking Henley now. So Henley, why did you and officer dickhead over there arrest the mother of my child, who also happens to be a fucking FBI agent by the fucking way! She's like the fucking Jackie Kennedy of the FBI. Would you fucking arrest Jackie Kennedy? Is this fucking Cuba now? Are we all fucking Bay of Pigs-Fidel Castro motherfuckers now? You care to fucking explain this to me?"

"Umm, well…"

"Umm well?" Christian laughed bitterly. "How long are we locking people up for committing 'umm well?' For fucking life, or are we up to the death penalty for 'umm well?'"

Hendricks slightly swallowed as he cringed, "She broke the law. She was publicly intoxicated and that blonde woman hit me and the other one sexual harnessed me…"

"And you liked it" Garcia cut in as she waved to Christian.

"So, she fucking sexually harasses me all the time. Are you too good to be fucking sexually harassed by that wicked delightful broad over there?" Christian accused as Hendricks shook his head enthusiastically. "Then how about next time you actually check their credentials and let them have a phone call first before you throw them in a holding tank like a couple of fucking hookers. Now I would suggest that you let them the fuck go. NOW!"

"Okay, okay" Hendricks agreed he took out the keys to unlock the cell.

"You girlfriend is very beautiful sir" Olivier attempted to compliment with a small smile as Christian shook his head in disbelief.

"Are you making a pass at my fucking fiancée?! Is that why you arrested her? To work some sort of sick fucking Stockholm Syndrome angle here. Is she fucking Patty Hearst now?"

"No sir" The officer replied with fear in his eyes. "I-I, I don't know what to do sir. Tell me what to do."

Christian laughed at the man, "Just get the fuck out of here before you piss your pants" he ordered as the two officers ran off, with Christian turning his attention back to the group of women. "So look what we have here. A couple of stripper harassing-police assaulting fucking drunks, one of which is the mother of my child. Why did I fucking leave Southie for this?" He laughed as Emily glared at him.

"You totally stole that line from Mean Girls" Garcia challenged as Christian gave her a pointed look. "Which mean you've watched Mean Girls" she snickered as Christian shot her a dirty look.

He tried to hide a small smile as he spoke up in a playful tone, "You want me to fucking lock you up again Oracle? Because I'll fucking do it. I don't care if I don't have fucking just cause. I'm not above arresting innocent people who piss me off. Haven't you ever heard a single rap song before? Don't trust the police."

"Shut up Christian" Emily remarked as she playfully slapped the man on the chest.

"Oh I guess you didn't get your fill of assaulting fucking police officer's did ya?" Christian asked with a smirk as the group walked out to the car. "You should be fucking thanking me pro-fucking-fusely for this Starsky. Without me you'd still be in the fucking slammer."

"Well I guess your assholery came in handy for once" Emily shrugged as the group got in the car, preparing to head to Emily's house.

"Really Christian, thanks for coming to get us" JJ spoke up, leaning her throbbing head against the car window as Christian pulled onto the silent D.C. street.

"Don't worry about it" Christian sighed before laughing. "I guess the kid has wicked magician skills after all, since he actually escaped."

"What kid?" Emily asked as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Reid, since he didn't get arrested" Christian answered as he heard the group of woman gasp. "You fucking forgot about Reid didn't you?"

"Turn back! They'll eat him alive in there. That boy isn't cut out for prison life. He'll be someone's wife by morning" Garcia exclaimed in a panicked voice as Christian turned the car back towards the police station.

It was fifteen minutes later when a barefoot Reid crammed into the backseat of Emily's car, glaring at all the women as he did so.

"Spence" JJ began as she tried to stifle a giggle, "Where are your shoes?"

"A homeless man threw up on them and Christian said he would leave me in jail if I didn't throw them away" he whined as Christian smirked. "I should have just gone to the basketball game. I should have never listened to Emily" he pouted as Emily gave him a sympathetic look.

"Reid I am so sorry" The brunette offered in a sincere voice. "To be fair, there is no way I could have ever known this would have happened. But, is there anything I can to make it up to you?"

"I just want to forget" Reid complained as Christian scoffed.

"You were in a D.C. jail for two fucking hours…"

"That place changes you" Reid interjected as Christian rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I'm sure the colors seem all fucking brighter now" He sarcastically stated as Emily hit his forearm.

"Don't be such a dick" she mumbled as she tried to sleep off the impending hangover.

"Well I hope you ladies had fun because you're going to wicked hungover tomorrow" Christian laughed at their collective misery. "Never would have thought that Emily Prentiss was such a messy fucking drunk."

Emily grinned at the statement, "Considering that I'm marrying you in a few weeks you might as well get used to it. How else am I going to cope?"

"You won the fucking lottery with me kid, quit acting like your marrying fucking Pol Pot."

"I would never" Emily fake gasped with a lopsided grin. "I was thinking that you're more like Kim Jong-un" she teased with a laugh.

"See" Christian spoke up with a smirk, "Total fucking menace."

**I do take note of reader's suggestions in the reviews, one of which will be featured in the upcoming epilogue.**

**Thanks for the reviews. I always appreciate reading how interested everyone is in this story.**


	44. Déjà vu

**Author's Note:**

**After forty-four chapters and over 150,000 thousand words it feels weird to be ending this story, but I don't want it to get too drawn out or stale.**** I**** also don't want to get to the point where writing this work becomes a chore, because I think it would negatively affect the story. However, I am going to miss writing Christian Cavanagh.**

**Anyway, here it is, the not-so-long-awaited epilogue. **

* * *

**5 Years Later**

With the seasons changing and the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom it doesn't get more perfect than Washington D.C. in April, a fact that was greatly appreciated by the group of friends who were seated in the grass while watching a Saturday morning t-ball game in the busy Virginia park. The weather was similar to that of a brisk April night five years before when Emily and Christian finally got married. Although a civil ceremony would have been sufficient for the couple, no one thought it was appropriate, especially Elizabeth Prentiss. Perhaps Elizabeth Prentiss was not the greatest mother in the world, but she sure knew how to throw a wedding.

Christian had been adamantly against marrying in a church, claiming that he would burn up as soon as he entered into one, and Emily wasn't so keen on Catholicism at that point either. As a result, the two married at a Middleburg, Virginia bed and breakfast. The affair could have been described as intimate and dignified, the wedding only having around eighty individuals in attendance, which the couple thought was absolutely hilarious because they collectively only knew ten people at their own wedding. But it was a fun night nonetheless and Emily had to admit that her wedding dress, a custom designed piece with sheer wrapped shoulders, a jeweled belt, fitted bodice and flared mermaid style bottom was beautiful and fit her tastes perfectly. And she also had to admit that in his white dinner jacket Christian looked exceptionally handsome, or 'fucking Rhett Butler level dapper' as he described it. Maybe having a wealthy mother did come in handy on some occasions.

However, even though the event could have rightly been deemed 'exceptionally eloquent,' it was still Emily and Christian's wedding so there were, of course, some flukes and quirks. First, the wedding became a bit more casual when Asher was changed out of his tuxedo into a pair of airplane patterned footie pajamas, falling asleep on JJ for most of the night, cranky when anyone besides his mother tried to wake him up with kisses and hugs. Oh the perils of being an adorable child.

Then, to make up the whole 'forgotten in jail' incident, the couple allowed Spencer Reid to officiate their wedding, which was...interesting. Sure Reid had done a fine job of discussing the origins and customs of marriage throughout history, but it was all the statistics on divorce that put a small damper on the evening. And then there were the vows.

It had taken a serial killer in Louisiana, a kidnapping by an old foe, and an unplanned pregnancy to get them there, so traditional wedding vows just didn't seem to fit the couple. And while Emily was proud of her new husband for managing to refrain from saying the 'F-bomb' in his vows, he did say, 'Emily, my life was wicked shitty before you' so he was still Christian. Nevertheless, Emily truly couldn't imagine marrying anyone else. In fact she couldn't imagine being able to stand anyone else other than the snaky Boston bred Police Lieutenant for more than a few weeks, let alone a lifetime.

"So Gumdrop" Garcia began with a grin, "How was the anniversary? Any chance your little game of thread the needle with Sinfully Delicious resulted in some new minions for me?" She asked as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Mommy what is minnon?" A cheerful four-year old girl asked from Garcia's lap.

"Yeah mommy, me don't know what Auntie 'racle say" another little girl, who was sitting on Emily, asked as both children turned to look up at their mother, who was giving Garcia a death stare. Both young girls looked like carbon copies of Emily, sharing all their facial features with their mother, except for their father's nose.

"Thanks a lot Garcia" Emily sarcastically stated before turning her attention back to her twin daughters. Juliet Harper Cavanagh was happily bouncing around on Garcia's lap while Scarlett Elizabeth Cavanagh was contently sitting on her mother's lap, heckling the different t-ball players in-between conversations with her twin sister.

It was only a month before their first wedding anniversary when Emily gave birth to the girls. She and Christian had both wanted a little girl after having Asher, and were more than a little surprised that they found out they were having twin daughters. And although the news shocked them at first, Christian may have fainted but those reports have yet to be confirmed, the couple was more than thrilled when the twin girls arrived. However, there was another party who was especially excited by the latest Cavanagh spawn, a certain blonde technical analyst who plotted her way to becoming the girls' godmother alongside Rossi, who Emily entrusted with the vital duty of _trying_ to curb Garcia's insanity.

And whilst Scarlett and Juliet looked nearly identical, except Juliet's hair was thankfully a shade lighter than Scarlett and Emily's which came in handy because it helped Christian tell the girls apart when they were trying to trick him, their personalities were completely different. Juliet was more like her brother, both children somewhat quiet, precocious, and a little shy when first meeting new people. They also shared their mother's penchant for science fiction and dramatic eye rolling. However, Scarlett was a different story since she acted just like her father. It was ridiculous. She was outgoing, snarky, confident, mischievous, and just plain hilarious.

"Mommy what Auntie say?" Scarlett asked again as she raised her arms, making a confused gesture.

"Oh you know your Aunt Penny, she's just being crazy" Emily answered as both the girls giggled and started babbling to each other, prompting JJ to start laughing. "And you crazy Aunt Oracle" Emily began with a pointed look, "seem to forget that I am so done. I am forty-six years old, have three kids under seven, and am married to _that" _she remarked as she pointed to Christian who was yelling and gesturing wildly with his arms.

"Come on that was a foul ball if I ever saw one! Error" He complained as Emily rolled her eyes at his antics before looking over to Morgan, who was flirting with some single mom. "Typical" she mumbled as she shook her head.

JJ laughed at the men before turning to face Emily, "I thought Boston Barbie wasn't coaching anymore."

"He's not" Emily chuckled. "He claims it was a coup."

"A coup, who is he?"

"A dictator" Emily answered with a laugh as she intently watched Garcia with her girls, the quirky woman attempting to teach Juliet a terrible British accent. "Garcia can you please stop trying to recreate the parent trap with my daughters? It's bad enough that Christian tried to use them to reenact The Shining to freak out Reid."

Morgan walked towards the group, grinning as he held up the newest business card he was able to score. "Hello my princesses, anyone want to hang out with uncle Derek? What do you say ScarLiz?"

"No" Scarlett merely replied as she relaxed against Emily's body, causing the group to laugh as Morgan's face sunk.

"Damn, why you gotta do me like that?" He asked in a mock hurt tone as Scarlett started laughing at his pouting. "Princess your girl is cold" he whined to Emily.

"I know, I'm so proud" Emily laughed as Morgan glared at her.

"What about you Jules?"

"Fine" Juliet sighed as she reluctantly got off Garcia's lap and walked to Morgan.

"Well thanks for the favor girl" the profiler laughed as he picked up the little girl and headed towards the swing sets before the group's attention was captured by Christian's newest argument with the referee.

"WHAT?!" Christian shouted as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration after Asher was deemed out when he tried to make it to third base. "Come on ref what the f…what was that?"

"Your boy is out Cavanagh" the overweight middle-aged referee stated as Christian laughed at the man, obviously getting irritated as Scarlett rolled her eyes and face palmed.

"My daddy is cwazy" She remarked to Emily as the group of woman erupted into a fit of laughter, with the brunette pressing a soft kiss to her daughter's hairline.

Christian scoffed at the referee, still arguing about the call. "I'm telling you, he was safe. A-Rod over there was just being cunning."

"Last time I checked Cavanagh I was the referee here not you. I've had the training…"

"Training?" Christian laughed. "Where did you train at? The Stevie Wonder academy for refereeing? Was Helen Keller your instructor?!" Christian incredulously asked with an eye roll.

"You know what Cavanagh, your boy was out. And I could care less whether you like it or not…"

"It's 'couldn't care less' you friggin' igit. 'Could care less' means you could…care…less, as in that you care now. How about taking a goddamn English class, this is D.C. not the fucking Appalachians!"

"That's it, you're out of here!" The referee ordered as Christian lifted his arms in surrender.

"Fine" Christian huffed as he started walking away. "Say hi to your mother for me...I always was a big fan of Benito Mussolini" he shot back with a grin as he approached Garcia, JJ, Emily, and Scarlett.

"Really Christian? Again?" Emily asked as JJ raised an eyebrow.

"Again?" The blonde asked as Scarlett raised her finger to answer her aunt.

"We gots 'plaints" she clarified as JJ and Garcia started laughing.

"Poppet you sly little tattle tale" Christian teased as he lifted the little girl into his arms. "You know who I blame for all of this?"

"Kobe Bryant?" Emily began with a grin. "Derek Jeter?

"Roger Clemens?" JJ added as her and Emily began to trade-off naming Christian's arch nemesis from over the years.

"Lebron James?"

"Eli Manning?"

"Wes Welker?"

"Rex Ryan?"

"The Yankees?"

"All of New York?" Garcia cut in as Christian glared at the group of women.

Scarlett sighed as she poked her father in the cheek, "Daddy I bored."

"Bored? What? It's baseball, we all love baseball."

"Baseball eww" Scarlett groaned with a small smile while a lopsided grin spread across Emily's face as Garcia opted to change the conversation.

"So how was the playdate with Calvin?" Garcia absent-mindedly asked as Christian's head immediately shot up.

"Who is Calvin? He sounds like a boy."

"Just a playdate" Emily answered.

In a momentary lapse in judgement Garcia further clarified, "He's five, he's Juliet's C-R-U-S-H…"

"WHAT?!" Christian yelled as Emily rolled her eyes. "He's an older boy and you just let him into our home?"

"Older boy? Christian, they're four and he's only five" Emily shrugged.

"That's older. I know math" He shot back as Emily bit her bottom lip to try to stop from laughing at him.

"Well to be fair, he didn't come over to our house. They went over to his…"

"That's even worse" Christian complained with a scowl as Scarlett started giggling at him. All of Emily and Christian's children found their father's little outbursts to be hilarious, mainly because he never yelled at them. This sense of security was primarily because the only yelling Christian did in the house was at the TV during different sporting events, or during the Academy Awards when his picks lost. "Emily, they're too young for this. I forbid this."

"Christian" Emily sighed with a small smile. "It's nothing…"

"Yeah Sinfully Delicious, what are you going to do when your little girls eventually start dating?" Garcia asked as a look of horror made its way on to Christian's face.

"There will be no dating in my house. I don't allow it! We agreed to Rapunzel them."

"Oh come on" JJ cut in with a chuckle. "Never?"

Christian shook his head at the inquiry, "Their brother can go on their dates with them if we have to allow it. But I am thinking we should just let me pick a suitable mate for them, or even better they can just live with us forever with no boys, no boys ever. And for the future Starsky, I do not allow this. I forbid it. I mean it Emily" he ranted as Emily started laughing at him.

"Whatever" She waved him off as she took a sip of her thermos of coffee while the referee walked closer to the family.

"Boo bad man. Yay daddy, 'rest him mommy" Scarlett heckled while clapping and dancing in her father's arms. "You stinky man…"

"Scarlett" Emily scolded as she looked over to a snickering Christian. "Christian can you talk to her?"

Christian nodded as he glanced down to the mini-Emily Prentiss in his arms, "What do we say poppet?"

"Stankees eww" Scarlett added as Christian kissed her cheek while Emily rolled her eyes at his newest lesson in heckling.

"You know what? She's bored anyway, take her to the swings with Morgan and Juliet" Emily ordered in a firm tone as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Come on poppet we've done it now."

"This child is so Christian it's ridiculous" JJ laughed as Emily couldn't help but laugh at the correct assessment of her daughter.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Christian asked as Emily scoffed at his question.

"She is just so you" She offered with a shrug as Christian scanned the baseball field, watching Asher sitting on the bleachers, kicking at the ground as if he was completely disinterest in the entire game. "She's just you, I don't know how else to explain it to you" Emily concluded with a smirk.

"Well you're the menace" Christian accused.

Emily rolled her eyes at the claim and sarcastically spoke up, "Sure."

"Mommy mad?" Scarlett asked as Emily sighed.

"Not at you. Daddy is being bad."

"Not me" Scarlett smiled, the smile inherited from her mother, flashing her little dimples at the news, "Yay."

"Are we finally leaving?" Asher yelled from the bench as Christian shook his head in disbelief. Between three kids he couldn't have had at least one baseball player?

"Ash, you don't like baseball anymore?" Christian asked as the six-year-old blonde boy came running towards the group.

"I like soccer like Aunt JJ" Asher admitted as Christian glanced between Emily and Scarlett.

"How long have you all been conspiring against me? I thought we were in April but I guess it's the ides of March" he complained as Emily started laughing at him.

"Wow, I'm so glad that I'm not married to anyone who's overly dramatic or who would compare his children's rejection of a silly game to the assassination of Julius Cesar" Emily sarcastically stated with a smirk as Christian scowled. "You don't have to play anymore if you don't want to sweetie. Okay?" Emily asked Asher, who sat next to JJ on the grass.

"I'm not good. I keep getting struck out."

"Oh my little golden prince" Garcia cooed as she engulfed the embarrassed little boy in a tight hug. "Just be yourself, that's all that matters. Just give me ten minutes, a laptop, and a mocha latte and I shall take care of that evil shrew for you."

"Yeah that guy can go f-flounder himself" Christian caught himself awkwardly, prompting Asher to laugh. "You did good. He's just jealous that you've got the Prentiss-Cavanagh genetics with Jack Kennedy-level charm" Christian stated in a matter of fact tone as he ruffled his son's hair before placing a Patriots beanie on his head. "You know who is really to blame for this? This is all because of that stupid referring son of a…"

"Christian" Emily warned as Christian shuffled the little girl around in his arms.

"I'm just saying…"

"Yeah I know what you're saying" Emily cut in with an eye roll.

Garcia smiled at the couple's interaction before speaking up, "So are we doing a movie together tonight Gumdrop? I need to get my twins on, and of course my little prince too."

"I wish" Emily groaned as JJ took out her phone to text Will about picking up Henry from his sleepover, "We are all having dinner with Grandma tonight and before that we were going to see the Cherry Blossoms. You can come with us if you want" Emily offered as the blonde technical analyst waved her off.

"No, that's the Cavanagh family tradition."

"Really PG, you can come" Emily offered with a smile as an evil grin crept across Christian's face.

"Yeah, just walk several steps behind us and we won't even notice you're there" he teased as Emily, JJ and Garcia all lightly hit him on the shoulder until their phones all began beeping at once.

"Case" They all said in unison as they checked the text from Hotch.

"Okay, well I guess you better get out of here" Christian sighed as he watched Morgan briskly walking towards their group. "Where you headed?"

"It's local this time. We are working with the Baltimore field office" Emily answered him with a tired smile. "I'm going to say 'bye' to the kids and then I really have to go. You're still going to take them to see the blossoms and to my mom's right?"

Christian shook his head at the request, "Yes Starsky, your slave boy is on the job."

"I knew I kept you around for some reason" Emily smirked as she lightly kissed him before bidding her children goodbye as she and the rest of the team headed towards their respective cars, Emily catching a ride with JJ. Their lifestyle hadn't always been ideal, and there were definitely times when Emily's job had caused friction in their marriage, but Christian was right, it wasn't like they ever regretted anything.

"Daddy tell us 'bout land" Juliet requested with a sweet smile.

Christian bit his bottom lip as he pretended to try to remember the story Emily had first told them two years before. Of course they didn't know what the story really meant, or how it effected their own personal history, but they would someday. Someday Emily and Christian would tell them what that story really meant, and someday they would tell their children parts of their own story. But that day wasn't 'someday,' it wasn't the right time. "Hmmm, I don't know if I remember, how does that story go again?"

"Ugh stop be silly n' just tell us" Scarlett pouted, causing Christian to crack up laughing as Asher shook his head at his sister's antics.

"Well excuse me boss lady, I forgot I was talking to the Queen of England here" Christian joked with an eye roll. "Once upon a time in Ireland there was a King named Cormac mac Airt and his daughter Grianne was the most beautiful woman in all of Ireland…"

* * *

The team's latest case was a trying one. Pre-teen children were being kidnapped and it looked like the abducted children were being sold in to domestic servitude on the black market, which posed an interesting problem. The team needed insight into the identities and dynamics of the major players in the human trafficking ring, but access to that sort of information was tough to come by. As a result, the rest of the team headed out to pursue their various leads while Emily was tasked with waiting for a Police Sergeant from the Baltimore Criminal Investigation Unit to meet her. The goal was to hopefully be able to arrange an interview with an officer Baltimore PD had undercover with the drug smuggling ring. However, there was evidently a slight hiccup as Emily sifted through the tip lines while waiting for Sergeant Morris to arrive at the precinct.

"Well la-di-fucking-da" Christian grinned as he threw his navy blue Red Sox baseball cap in front of Emily, the brunette rolling her eyes in response.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emily asked as she turned around to face her husband, remembering their first interaction nearly seven years before.

"Evidently you can't do your fucking job without Donnie fucking Brasco here" he remarked with a cocky grin as Emily scoffed at the man's confident demeanor.

"Really Christian, what are you doing here?" She asked as he cracked his knuckles and leaned against the conference room table where she was working.

"It turns out that most of the guys you're looking for are based out of D.C., and there-fucking-fore are working with my undercover guy. So here I am."

"You're late."

"I'm always fucking late. This is who I am, this is who I choose to be" Christian laughed as Emily shook her head and leaned back in the conference room chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why do you keep trying to fuck up my undercover ops Prentiss? It's wicked annoying. It's like your fucking bat signal. I always know you're around when everything goes to shit."

Emily groaned as she ran her hands through her hair, "Whatever Cavanagh, I need to get to work so why don't you get off your ass and actually help me out here."

"Fine" Christian smirked as he stole a sip from Emily's cup of green tea. "Let's get this over with. I have to take my kids to dinner with my mother-in-law and if I don't show my wife going to be real fucking pissed. She's a wicked hardass that one."

"Pssh, whatever" Emily waved him off with a lopsided grin. "You're probably the problem. She, on the other hand, sounds amazing."

"Eh" Christian spoke up with a shrug. "She's like allergies. Is she what one would call fucking ideal? No, but I've learned to live with her."

"That's my line" Emily replied with a betrayed look.

Christian grinned at the complaint, "Not so fun on this fucking side of thievery is it Starsky? Oh how the mighty have fallen..."

"Will you just shut the hell up already? I swear you've been talking nonstop for seven years" Emily ordered with a laugh as Christian's face sunk. "By the way, who did I kill in a past life to deserve this? Why does this keep happening to me? Haven't I paid enough? Why do these things always happen to me?"

"You know, 'Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough" Christian smirked as Emily bit her bottom lip, trying to stifle a fit of laughter from escaping.

"Do you know any quotes that aren't by George Bernard Shaw?"

"No" Christian confessed with a laugh as he took a seat across from the brunette, leaning back in the office chair with his arms crossed over his chest, mirroring her body language as he smiled at her. "Do you?"

Emily offered the man a smile in return before shaking her head, "Not any worth remembering."

**The End.**

* * *

**I want to thank everyone for reading/reviewing. It was amazing to have such interest and support for this story. I appreciated every single review, even when you voiced your ****disappointments on the different choices I made because it showed that you really did care about the characters, and to have an audience invested in your characters is an amazing feeling as a writer, so thank you. ****It was also great to be able to throw a couple of Boston jokes in.**

**I doubt I'll ever do another Emily/OC work after this, and o****verall, I hope that everyone enjoyed this work and was satisfied with the ending it was given. I wanted everyone to be happy with how I left Emily and Christian and I hope you all are. **

**I'm probably going to start working on a romance/tragedy work with an Emily/JJ pairing soon. ****I'm outlining the plot now so it may be a short while before I post it.**** This work will be set in season 7, time jump to season 9, and have flashbacks from all the preceding seasons. I will warn that this work will probably be dark, and may not have a happy ending like this one. Nevertheless, I might end up throwing a little humor in it too. George Bernard Shaw once said, "Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh." I truly believe that and hope my writing reflects that.**

**Thanks again for all the support and I hope you'll check out my next story. **


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